Prime office rents in Asia Pacific showed a moderation in rental decline in the third quarter of 2023, declining 1.3 percent year-on-year and down from the 1.5 percent drop observed in the second quarter, according to Knight Frank’s Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, average rents across the region showed stability, with declines in China’s markets moderating. This was further counterbalanced by rental growth in most other developed markets. Overall, 15 of the 23 tracked cities reported either stable or increasing rents, which was in line with the index’s second quarter findings.

Third quarter vacancy rates, however, continued to rise and were up 0.4 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 14.4 percent. This ongoing vacancy trend has resulted in the index consistently surpassing 10-year highs since the third quarter of 2022.