An index of Asia-Pacific prime office rents – tracking the sort of locations used by wealth managers among others – fell by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 from the previous three-month period.

An index of Asia-Pacific prime office rents – tracking the sort of locations used by wealth managers among others – fell by 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2014 from the previous three-month period.

Over a 12-month period, the biggest gain (29.6 per cent) was logged by Jakarta’s central business district.

Only three markets – Phnom Penh, Sydney and Singapore – registered more than 0.5 per cent rental growth in the second quarter of this year despite a large rise in net absorption and fall in vacancy rates, according to Knight Frank, the global estate agency and consultancy.

“Q2 2014 registered little rent movement, demonstrating less volatility than the previous quarter. 10 markets, out of the 20 markets tracked, this quarter saw less than 0.5 per cent rental movement, compared to six markets in the previous quarter,” Nicholas Holt, head of research for Asia Pacific, said.

Phnom Penh registered the highest growth at 3.8 per cent whilst Hanoi saw the largest decline at -4.1 per cent, the Knight Frank Prime Office Rental Index showed.

The firm predicts that over the next 12 months, rents in 14 cities out of the 20 tracked are expected to either remain steady or increase, which is in line with the previous forecasts.