PROPERTY markets in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the other three core Tier I cities besides Shanghai, continued to thrive in almost all sectors in the second quarter of this year, according to a recent report conducted by CB Richard Ellis, a leading property services provider.
Beijing
The overall rent for prime office spaces in the capital rose 1.3 percent to 183.20 yuan (US$23.80) per square meter per month in the second quarter. Meanwhile, a total of 172,500 square meters of office space came on stream while the take-up reached 137,444 square meters in the three-month period.
In the residential sector, the upcoming 2008 Olympic Games is driving the rapid development of the serviced apartment market, leading the average rent of these units to reach 213.80 yuan per square meter per month, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.8 percent.
Luxury apartment rents climbed 1.2 percent to 102.90 yuan per square meter per month and luxury villa rents edged up 0.2 percent to 138.30 yuan per square meter per month.
In the sales market, policies restricting approvals for luxury villa plots led the average sales price for luxury villas to jump 4.5 percent to 22,600 yuan per square meter in the quarter, while the average luxury apartment sales price also rose 2.4 percent to 23,173 yuan per square meter.
On the retail side, four new department stores opened in the city and the total prime retail area in Beijing hit 3.58 million square meters by June.
Rent for ground floor retail space edged up 0.9 percent to a record 28.5 yuan per square meter per day and vacancy rate dropped 0.2 percentage point to 6.2 percent in June.
Guangzhou
The office market in this southern city, capital of Guangdong Province, remained stable in the second quarter with the overall rent of prime office space up one percent to 97.60 yuan per square meter per month. Newly completed office space continued to be absorbed by the market, which then led to a decrease in the vacancy rate to around 16 percent by June. In the coming 18 months, it is estimated that more than one million square meters of new supply will come into the market.
In the residential leasing front, minor increases were recorded in rentals for villa and high-end apartments - 1.3 percent and 0.3 percent - as compared to the previous quarter, while rents for serviced apartments were unchanged.
Meanwhile, sale prices for villas and high-end apartments jumped 1.6 percent to 24,333 yuan per square meter and 6.5 percent to 12,800 yuan per square meter respectively.
In the retail sector, rentals for ground floor spaces in prime areas rose 1.4 percent to 35.70 yuan per square meter per day.
Shenzhen
Both the average sale price and rental rate for prime office buildings in this city, also in Guangdong Province, grew substantially in the second quarter. On average, prime office space was sold at 16,221 yuan per square meter, a quarter-over-quarter jump of 14.8 percent. Two Grade A office buildings were completed, contributing 161,000 square meters to the prime office stock. Meanwhile, with a large proportion of the newly completed space being absorbed in the sales market, overall vacancies fell to 15.9 percent in June from 17.1 percent in March.
But the average monthly rent for the ground floor space of shopping malls was 23.90 yuan per square meter per day, a decline of 2.9 percent from a quarter earlier, and first floor space rental dropped 3.7 percent to 18.50 yuan per square meter per day. Meanwhile, the overall vacancy rate rose to 7.8 percent by June.