Beijing, China
 

Beijing and its Commercial Real Estate Market are unique in many respects. Did You Know...

 • Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the four municipalities, or administrative sectors in the country. The city is located in the northeast portion of China, and its name literally means "northern capital." Beijing has a population of approximately 17.4 million people distributed across 6,487 square miles of land. Beijing is the second largest city in China and is considered the hub for politics, education, transportation, and culture in the PRC.

• China's economy continues to expand rapidly. Based on GDP, China is the second largest economy in the world, behind only the United States. Since the 1970s, the Chinese government has worked to reform the economy from a centrally planned and internationally separated market to a major contributor to the global market. Presently, more than five thousand domestic Chinese enterprises have established direct investments in over 172 countries around the world.

• Beijing's prestigious education system provides for a well-educated labor force. There are many high level and internationally known universities in Beijing, the two most esteemed being Peking University and Tsinghua University. beijing is home to more tertiary-level learning facilities than any other city in China. Important industries in Beijing include mining and ore processing, machine building, textiles and apparel, consumer products, transportation equipment, telecommunications equipment, and armaments.

• In preparation for the Olympic Games to be celebrated in August of this year, the city has expanded and improved its transportation networks.

• The real estate market in Beijing continues to expand. In recent years, there has been a massive expansion of the office and retail markets. In 2007, investment in Beijing's real estate market totaled $28 billion, an increased of 16% from 2006. Beijing currently has over 148 million square feet of office space Among of which, 1.55 million sq ft are premium space, 50.4 million sq ft are class A, and 96.1 million sq ft are class B. The overall vacancy rate is 16.0% and the overall class A vacancy rate is 14.6%.

• Due to the high demand, rental rates have continued to increases. The current overall asking price is $2.42 per sq ft per month. In 2008, the real estate market is expected continue to grow. The CBD will see the most of the new supply coming into the market, but most of it will be quickly absorbed. The total class A office space added to the market this year is expected to be over 13 million sq ft. Absorption of class A is forecasted to reach 9.1 million sq ft.