A surge in releases of all grades of new office space in East Kowloon has forced landlords to adopt new strategies to find tenants for the millions of square feet of commercial space coming on stream in the district.

Rents in the district have fallen 16-20% from peak levels in September last year, according to Fiona Ngan, a director of the Kowloon commercial department of property consultancy Colliers International.

About 4.15 million sqft of new office space of all grades was completed in Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay last year, research from property consultancy DTZ shows. That was 264% more than a year earlier and a five-year high.

South China Morning Post