Commercial real estate gets domestic power up

Domestic financial and professional service companies continued to push up demand for office buildings in Shanghai's central business district during the third quarter of 2014, and the interest is expected to last through the year, said a report by global real estate services provider JLL IP Inc released on Tuesday.

LaSalle research showed that first-tier cities are still the mainstays for Grade-A and Premium Grade-A projects, while some second-tier and smaller cities such as Chongqing and Shenzhen have seen strong demand for office buildings due to robust economic growth and rapid expansion of services industries.

Shanghai accounted for the lion's share of the demand for prestigious office buildings, driven by the growing needs of the financial services sector in China. The sector also was the prime driver for the resurgence in the CBD leasing market.