Knight Frank’s Global Corporate Lettings Survey says corporate residential demand is expanding in emerging markets.
According to the survey of Knight Frank’s global residential teams, Hong Kong and Singapore have seen an upturn in expatriate demand from new industry sectors and emerging markets over the past two years.
Shanghai has seen its expatriate community increase by 54 percent over six years, from 110,000 in 2005 to more than 170,000 in 2011.
In Beijing the vacancy rate currently stands at a 10-year low (13 percent) which signals a strong market, but also means high rental expectations from landlords, the survey says.
However, it says new world cities have yet to rival their old world counterparts in terms of the volume of corporate lets being secured.
It also says developing markets will see volumes increase as the focus of growth shifts further south and east across the globe in the next decade.
Average rents in New York have reached their highest level since the start of the credit crunch and an improving regional economy, combined with a tight lending environment and escalating prime prices, are pushing potential buyers into rental accommodation. The same is true of the prime London market.
