Shanghai Figures Q4 2022

Leasing and investment demand poised to accelerate as zero-covid policy ends

Office

Four new buildings providing a total of 176,367 sq. m. of new office space were completed in Q4 2022. Overall net absorption declined to 49,668 sq. m., a fall of 72% q-o-q. Demand was driven by the finance, TMT and consumer product manufacturing sectors. Overall vacancy increased by 0.5 pps to 17.5%.

Retail

Three new shopping malls – Zhangyuan West Zone, MOHO Shanghai and MixC World – came on stream this quarter, adding 160,339 sq. m. of new retail space to the market. F&B dominated leasing demand, while robust expansion was witnessed from fashion retailers including outdoor sports brands.

Logistics

Three projects providing a combined 228,808 sq. m. of space were added in Q4 2022. New stock was located in Jinshan, Songjiang and Minhang and pushed up net absorption to 122,578 sq. m. Overall vacancy increased by 1.2 pps to 9.3%. 3PLs continued to dominate leasing demand.

Business Park

One new project of around 189,000 sq. m. was launched this quarter. Take-up totalled 98,944 sq. m. Leasing demand was led by TMT, pharmaceutical & life science, and electronic products firms.

Investment

A total of 21 investment transactions worth a combined RMB 25.03 billion were completed in Q4 2022, an increase of 24.4% q-o-q. Investment-oriented transactions became more prominent this quarter, while foreign investors turned more active. Notable deals included CapitaLand’s purchase of the Springs, AIA’ acquisition of SICC, and LaSalle’s purchase of a multifamily building.