Hong Kong faces 15-year office space surplus recovery

Hong Kong has a large surplus of office space. There are 15 million square feet of excess office space, which is more than what exists in the main business district. Experts from the property consultancy CBRE predict that it will take at least seven years for demand for office space to meet this supply. The situation for landlords is expected to remain challenging as they try to fill empty offices. Marcos Chan, a director at CBRE Hong Kong, mentioned that if the demand stays similar to past levels, vacancy rates will likely remain high through the end of the decade. For a more pessimistic view, S&P Global Ratings’ Edward Chan warned it could take up to 15 years to lease all vacant spaces if demand does not increase. Overall, Hong Kong's office market faces a long recovery ahead.