Shanghai Real Estate News

Strong leasing momentum continued to drive rental growth in Grade A offices in both Shanghai’s Pudong and Puxi in the last quarter of 2015 as domestic and multinational companies aggressively expanded their operations, international property services providers said. In the Pudong New Area, rents rose 2.9 percent quarter on quarter to 11.10 yuan (US$1.69) per square meter per day while Puxi’s Grade A rents climbed 2.5 percent to 9.70 yuan per square meter per day, JLL said in a report released yesterday.

“Demand continued to be strong towards the year end, with strong leasing performance in a number of recently completed projects in Pudong as well as core locations in Puxi,” said James Allan, head of markets for JLL Shanghai. “Domestic and multinational firms in technology, retail, professional services and financial services sectors all actively sought office expansion opportunities on both sides of the (Huangpu) River.”

The fourth quarter of 2015 registered a new high of take-up space in recent years, due to absorption of projects handed over in the past few quarters, a separate report by Savills showed. “Around 90 percent of take-up in Q4 was in non-prime areas and around 60 percent of all transactions was in Pudong,” said Chester Zhang, associate director at Savills China Research. “While Lujiazui and Nanjing Road W. continued to be the most tight business area in Shanghai, non-prime Pudong recorded strongest annual rental growth, or 5.6 percent year on year, as demand from the financial sector remains robust.”

Overall net absorption reached a historical high of 1.45 million square meters in Shanghai last year, almost doubling from 2014, according to JLL data. Looking ahead, 2016 will continue to see an influx of supply in both core and decentralized areas, Savills said. Supply of Grade A offices in core areas will be around 1.8 million square meters, it said.