Ricard Court: Hong Kong's commercial and commercial market continued to recover, trading 2,562 units hit a 4-year high in the first half of the year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that Huang Yingnian, director of Lijia Court (Commercial Store) Real Estate, pointed out that in the first half of 2026, the Hong Kong commercial store market showed a pattern of volume appreciation and decline. Driven by property prices returning to an attractive level after being drastically adjusted, powerful local buyers and long-term investors took advantage of the low absorption, and medium- and small-price property transactions were active, driving a significant increase in overall turnover; however, the lack of large transactions in the market, combined with developers actively selling at discounted prices, caused the overall transaction amount to drop.

As of June 30, 2026, a total of 2,562 sales registrations for industrial buildings, commercial buildings and stores were recorded in Hong Kong, involving $28.767 billion (HK$, same below), up 15% and 7% respectively from the second half of 2025. The number of transactions reached a record high of nearly eight and a half years, and remained above 2,000 for three and a half years, reflecting the continued recovery of the market. In terms of classification, industrial buildings recorded the highest number of 1,385 cases (accounting for 54.1%); 638 cases for stores (24.9%); and 539 cases (21.0%) for commercial buildings.

Huang Yingnian believes that the market has shown signs of quantitative and qualitative change and bottom stabilization. At this stage, it is mainly dominated by users and small and medium-sized investors, and value for money is the principle of entering the market. The increase in turnover in the first half of the year was mainly supported by improvements in the local economy, the recovery in tourists and the wealth effect of the stock market; while the decline in total value reflected the concentration of transactions in small and medium-sized properties.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2026, the commercial store market is expected to be stable, moderate and positive. The overall transaction registration volume will rise by about 3.8% on a semi-annual basis to 2,660; the transaction amount is expected to increase by 11.2% to reach 32 billion yuan, driven by large commercial buildings and store registrations. Among them, commercial buildings are expected to show the most prominent performance, with sales volume rising 11% to 600; industrial buildings are improving steadily, estimated at around 1,400; and stores are expected to rise to 660, driven by an increase in visitors.

In the first half of 2026, the commercial building market experienced a downward trend in volume and value. A total of 539 commercial building transactions were registered, down 6% from 576 sales in the second half of 2025; however, the transaction amount reversed the market and rose slightly by 2% to 13.111 billion yuan. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the continued active IPO market and the accelerated return of Chinese and foreign companies to Hong Kong's core business district will help drive demand for office rental and sales. As market confidence improves and high-quality inventory sources are gradually absorbed, the commercial building market is expected to regain its upward trend. The number of registered transactions is expected to increase to about 600 in the second half of the year, rebounding 11.3% on a semi-annual basis; the transaction amount is likely to rise to about 15 billion yuan, an increase of 14.4%.

Thanks to the increase in visitors and the entry of mainland brands, the store market performance improved steadily in the first half of 2026. A total of 638 store sales registrations were recorded across Hong Kong, up 5% from 605 in the second half of 2025, rising for four and a half years in a row, and hitting a record high for the same period in the past 4 years; a sharp increase of 25.6% over the same period last year. However, due to a decrease in large transactions, the total transaction value fell to 8.604 billion yuan, a decrease of 21% from half year to year. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the vacancy rate in core retail areas is expected to decline further, and rents and sales prices are expected to rebound moderately. The number of store sales registrations is expected to increase to about 660 in the second half of the year, up 3.4% from half year to year; the transaction amount is expected to rise back to about 9.5 billion yuan, an increase of about 10.4%.

In terms of the industrial building market, with support from emerging industries such as logistics, data centers, and frozen storage, the industrial building market is expected to maintain the trend of exchanging price for volume. Local users and long-term investors will continue to take advantage of the low absorption, but new supply and the pace of economic recovery still limit price increases. The number of industrial building sales registrations is expected to rise slightly to 1,400 in the second half of the year, an increase of 1.1% over the same period; the transaction amount is expected to rise to about 7.5 billion yuan, an increase of about 6.3%.