New Zealand office market snapshot Q3 2023

Our real estate market research is based on data from several reputable sources including on-the-ground insights from our own departments.

Occupiers continue to seek properties that are better equipped to attract and retain the best talent, and this translates into prime and A-Grade offices for lease being sought-after. There has been heightened leasing activity in the third quarter of 2023 at the upper end of office rents across Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. This trend is driving the divergence between prime and secondary net rents in all three cities.

Net prime rents for Auckland’s CBD office market increased by $15 per square metre, marking a total increase through the first three quarters of 2023 of $33 per square metre. After the first increase since September 2021, net prime rents for the Auckland fringe office market remained the same at an average of $263 per square metre.

A similar increase in net prime rents for Wellington occurred in Q3, increasing by $15 per square metre, while secondary office net rents increased by $7. This divergence is expected to continue widening as demand for premium space in the capital remains strong. There was a notable completion in Wellington this quarter, 44 Bowen Campus, while the BNZ building at 1 Whitmore Street is expected to complete by the end of 2023.

The already tight office market in the Garden City continued through Q3 of 2023 with a reduction in prime office vacancy from 3.6% to 3.0%. The average net prime rents in Christchurch followed the national trend by increasing $8 per square metre. Net prime CBD rents are expected to increase by a further 3.3% before the end of 2023.

• Where are prime rents increasing at the highest rate across the country?

• How is the Garden City office market responding to continued low vacancy?

• What buildings are nearing completion in Wellington’s office development pipeline?

Find out more below.