The Grade A office-leasing market in Taipei City, which saw a glut after office space became available in the Taipei 101 building, picked up slightly in the third quarter, according to real-estate market reports released yesterday.
The vacancy rate of Grade A office space dropped to 17.2 percent in the third quarter of this year from 18.9 percent in the previous quarter, after more tenants moved into the world's highest building, Jones Lang LaSalle International Property Consultants said in a report.
The average rental, however, fell slightly by 0.8 percent to NT$2,195 (US$66) per ping as landlords tried to keep tenants from moving as a flood of choices became available after Taipei 101 opened, said Sherry Wu (吳瑤華), an associate manager at Jones Lang LaSalle.
Grade A office space in the Xinyi District (
The average rental may remain at its current level in the next quarter as a result of the slow economy, the report said.
In a report issued yesterday, CB Richard Ellis Ltd, another office property agent, said rental rates for Grade A office space in Taipei slid by 0.28 percent to an average NT$2,168 per ping.
However, the agent said that rentals for top-graded and Grade A office buildings are very likely to rise, driven by rising consumer prices and inflationary pressure, as well as diminishing supply.
The growing real-estate investment trust (REIT) market was of particular interest in the third quarter, the report said, with several major companies entering the sector or planning to do so.
As the REIT market is still in its infancy in Taiwan, there will be considerable growth potential, the report said.
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