JLL pioneers a new office assessment framework: Elevated premium grade A offices lead market recovery

Shanghai, August 18, 2026 – JLL (NYSE: JLL) today officially launched its new office building assessment framework via its new white paper “At the Forefront: Shanghai's Elevated Premium Grade A Offices lead market recovery under a new assessment framework” (hereinafter referred to as the “White Paper”). The White Paper pioneers a “3+5” comprehensive office building assessment framework that integrates both development and operational perspectives, thereby introducing the concept of Elevated Premium Grade A offices. According to JLL data, projects classified as Elevated Premium Grade A under this new framework have exceptional resilience, outperforming the market and emerging as a core driver of Shanghai’s overall office market recovery.

Shanghai’s global influence and overall competitiveness have continued to strengthen. Its economic output ranks first nationwide and fifth globally, and the capabilities in science and technological innovation have solidified its top-tier position globally, attracting multinational corporations, industry leaders, and high-quality talents. Together, these factors are generating sustained and diverse demand for Shanghai’s office market, supporting the continued expansion and upgrading of the overall market.

Much like key office markets in global gateway cities, Shanghai is witnessing a prevailing trend of increasing divergence among office projects and strengthening flight-to-quality demand. As companies’ site selection priorities become increasingly diversified, traditional assessment criteria for Grade A offices, which place greater emphasis on physical metrics and specifications, can hardly keep pace with market trends and evolving demand. In light of these shifting market dynamics, the current market requires an entirely new assessment and analytical framework to categorize Grade A office projects.

Anny Zhang, CEO, JLL China, noted, “Shanghai’s global influence and overall competitiveness have continued to strengthen, supporting the continued expansion and upgrading of the office market. We have moved beyond the traditional metrics and introduced a multidimensional assessment framework that integrates perspectives from both development and operations. This new paradigm advances the narrative and market understanding of Shanghai’s office market.”

Drawing on JLL’s long-term tracking of Shanghai’s office market and insights from a 103-tenant survey and in-depth landlord interviews, we have comprehensively upgraded the Grade A office assessment framework.

Building on the three traditional development-oriented assessment dimensions: specifications and facilities, location and accessibility, and amenities and services, the new framework introduces five pioneering dimensions: human-centric experiences, asset management adaptability, submarket empowerment, sustainability, and intelligence. JLL has established a more forward-looking and instructive assessment framework for Grade A offices.

Under the new “3+5” assessment framework, office buildings delivering superior market performance across all dimensions are defined as Elevated Premium Grade A offices. Daniel Yao, Head of Research, JLL China, noted, “Elevated Premium Grade A offices in Shanghai have demonstrated consistent advantages in rental premiums and vacancy rates compared with regular Grade A offices. Entering 2026, Elevated Premium Grade A office rents have stabilized and started to bottom out, driving the overall office market recovery.” Market data as of 2Q26 highlights the following trends:

• Leading Rental Growth: The average rent for Elevated Premium Grade A offices reached RMB 8.5 per square meter per day in 2Q26, with nearly 70% of these projects recording positive or flat rental growth in the first half of 2026.
• Efficient Leasing Velocity: Among all the post-2022 newly completed projects, Elevated Premium Grade A offices are absorbing leasing space at 2.7–2.9 times the speed of regular Grade A offices.
• Flight-to-Quality Demand: Among all relocation transactions recorded for Elevated Premium Grade A projects in the past 12 months, upgrade demand accounted for a remarkable share of 94%.

As office land supply in core locations tightens, the scarcity of Elevated Premium Grade A offices will become increasingly pronounced over the medium-to-long term. JLL forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 6% in rents for Elevated Premium Grade A offices over the next five years.

JLL has been dedicated to defining and reshaping market benchmarks throughout its more-than-30-year presence in Shanghai office market. Backed by deep local market insights and global expertise, over this timeframe, we have introduced pioneering concepts such as “Core CBD”, “Premium Grade A offices”, and “Decentralized market”. Each conceptual breakthrough and methodological innovation demonstrates JLL’s forward-looking market understanding and industry leadership. The launch of our pioneering "3+5" assessment framework marks another significant methodological advancement.

Zhang concluded, “This new assessment framework will drive Shanghai’s office market toward higher-quality growth. It provides a valuable reference for governments to coordinate regional resource allocation more effectively, and for landlords to pursue enhancement across the 3+5 dimensions. It also equips tenants to identify high-quality buildings capable of transcending market cycles. The new assessment framework delivers holistic perspectives for industry stakeholders, and collective efforts will further entrench Shanghai’s position as a pre-eminent global business hub.”

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