KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — The number of vacant office spaces in the Klang Valley continued to grow at an alarming rate throughout 2021 even as the lifting of Covid-19 curbs allowed the economy to reopen, surpassing 150 million square feet despite a slowing appetite for businesses to expand.
Rahim&Co, one of the country’s largest property consultancies, said the glut in commercial spaces has heightened concern over the “sustainability” of that market segment, although it stopped short of suggesting the risk of a property bubble arising from the overhang.
Klang Valley’s occupancy rate at the first half of last year was at 72.1 per cent, falling further from the 75.4 per cent rate recorded from the same period in 2020, making total vacant commercial space in the region at 41 million square foot, or close to a thousand acres.
