Latest Insights for the city centre

Each quarter, we delve into the latest data for Auckland's city centre. Find out about what’s happening with our spend, foot traffic and accommodation occupancy data, as well as new business news and leasing insights. 
 

Some of the leasing results from the quarter

Off the back of a flat March quarter, the June quarter reflected the wider economic landscape, with both overall spend and foot traffic down compared to 2023 (Spend: -9% vs STLY, Foot Traffic: -7% vs STLY). This is consistent with retail trading generally seeing discretionary spending down and it was particularly evident in the month of June, which pulled down the overall results for the quarter (-13% STLY).

Whilst the March quarter saw the highest international spend in five years, it dropped back to ‘seasonal’ levels, meaning that an extra boost from the tourism dollar was not there this quarter to bridge the gap of overall reduced domestic spending.   

Whilst the quarter wasn’t easy, looking year on year, there has been +10% growth across our pedestrian counts (and +5% in the overall number of spend transactions), helped by the many events and activations to attract people here. Most recently this included New Zealand Music Month, the Auckland Comedy Festival and the Auckland Writer’s Festival with a record-breaking 85,000 attendees.

Given the challenging economic environment, it’s pleasing to see that both office and retail vacancies are “largely stable”, with demand remaining highest for premium, environmentally friendly spaces. There has also been some notable leasing news, including the planned return of One New Zealand to Wynyard Quarter in 2025.

Long term confidence remains with a number of major developments having been announced during the quarter including the planned refurbishment of the old McDonalds site on Queen Street, which also includes a new residential development. There’s also been a number of new businesses open, including SkyCity’s Horizon. Smith and Caughey’s announcement that they will be staying on Queen Street, and Sail GP in January is also fantastic news to share!

Read more here

Insights from previous quarters:

March 2024 
December 2023
September 2023
June 2023
March 2023
December 2022
October 2022