December 2025 Quarterly Results
There were notable positives in the final quarter of 2025, despite what has been a challenging year nationwide. More people were out and about in the city centre compared with the same time the previous year, and major events drove standout results. A one‑off Metallica concert saw accommodation fill up across the city and pushed spend sharply higher for the day.
International visitors also played a bigger role, with overseas cardholders making up 26% of total spend, reflecting the seasonal rise in arrivals and helping strengthen activity across the quarter. At the same time, office vacancies began to decline for the first time since 2022, and several much‑loved businesses marked major milestones, adding to a growing sense of optimism.
However, despite these positive signals: strong event days, higher foot traffic, and growing international spend - overall spend for the quarter was –10% on 2024.Leasing indicators also presented a mixed picture, with office vacancies easing while retail vacancies continued to adjust.
Taken together, the results point to a city centre gaining momentum, with encouraging signs as it heads into 2026.
Let’s take a closer look at the results.
Foot traffic was up compared to the December 2024 Quarter
Source: HOTC Pedestrian Counts. Not for Reproduction.
As we moved into summer, the festive season, and a busy events period, the city centre was buzzing, and our foot traffic began to recover from the lows seen earlier in 2025.In the December quarter, foot traffic was +6% year‑on‑year, with all three months showing growth. The month of December performed especially well, +9% YoY.
Unfortunately, this strong finish was not enough to boost overall annual foot traffic, -1% compared with 2024.
Source: HOTC Pedestrian Counts. Not for Reproduction.
Major events brought big benefits
Sources: HOTC Pedestrian Counts and Marketview. Not for Reproduction.
Metallica’s one‑off Eden Park show on 19 November delivered a major boost: city‑centre foot traffic on concert day was +30% compared with the previous week, with Britomart and Te Komitanga up +28%.
Spending followed the same strong trend. Total city spend on the day of the concert was +33% week‑on‑week, driven by a huge surge in accommodation (+219%) and hospitality (+70%).
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited reported that the concert drew 54,900 attendees, 43% of whom were from outside Auckland. With so many visitors arriving for the show, hotel occupancy reached 95.2%, reflected clearly in the spike in accommodation spend in the city centre.
In a pure coincidence, Coldplay had performed multiple shows in Auckland almost exactly a year earlier. Marketview even ran a light‑hearted “battle of the bands,” comparing spend across the two weekends. There could only be One winner: Metallica came out on top, with Auckland city spend +6.5% higher than during the Coldplay concerts. For local businesses, it was music to their ears.
Adding to the city’s vibrancy at the same time as Metallica, was the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education, the largest academic conference ever held in New Zealand, attracting around 3,800 attendees.
Business events provided a significant boost to Auckland. According to Tātaki, Auckland attracted the highest number of business delegates in New Zealand in Q4 2025. Over the same period, the city also hosted 24% of all business events nationwide, including the largest share of conferences and other business events. It’s fantastic that 2026 has kicked off with the long-awaited opening of the New Zealand International Convention Centre to support this important part of the city’s economy.
Source: HOTC Pedestrian Counts. Not for Reproduction.
Local events brought a buzz too. The city centre’s Christmas programme, brimming with festive activities, launched in November. An estimated 10,000 people attended the lighting ceremony of Te Manaaki, Auckland’s giant Christmas tree and a gift from Heart of the City and Precinct Properties, with support from Auckland Council via the city centre targeted rate. The 2025 event featured performances from Drax Project and the Auckland Youth Choir. Foot traffic was +55% compared with 2024’s inaugural event between 6pm and 9pm.
International Cardholder Share Up from the December 2024 Quarter
As the peak tourist season began, overseas visitors strongly influenced spending patterns in the December 2025 quarter. International cardholders accounted for 26% of total spend in the city centre, compared with 7% for competitors. This represents a +2% increase in the city centre’s international cardholder share compared with the December 2024 quarter.
Source: Marketview. Not for Reproduction.
This uplift aligns with rising international visitor arrivals to New Zealand and the Auckland region. Tātaki’s latest data shows that 2.3 million international visitors arrived in Auckland in the year to November 2025, +3.5% on the previous year.
Stats NZ reported that international arrivals to New Zealand reached 3.51 million in the year to December 2025, up 196,000 on the previous year. Additionally, Stats NZ reported that December 2025 saw overseas visitor arrivals return to 95% of December 2019 levels (pre-pandemic).
Source: Marketview. Not for Reproduction.
However, spend for the city centre is down for the December quarter
Source: Marketview. Not for Reproduction.
Overall spend in the city centre did not increase in the December 2025 quarter, despite higher pedestrian counts, more international visitors, and major events delivering strong individual results.
City centre spend was -10% compared with the December 2024 quarter, while competitors recorded -7%. Results across the past 12 months show a similar pattern. In the city centre, overall spend was -6%, compared to our competitors, -4% over the same period.
Underlying economic indicators showed early green shoots of improvement over the quarter. Business sentiment strengthened, with ANZ Business Outlook confidence rising from 58 in October to 74% net positive expecting better business conditions in December, its highest level in 30 years. ANZ-Roy Morgan results for the quarter showed that consumer confidence also increased, lifting from 92.4 in October to 101.5 in December, its highest level since 2021. Together, these indicators show improving business and consumer sentiment nationally, even though city centre spending has not yet responded to these shifts.
Leasing News
Office vacancies are falling
City centre office vacancies have begun to decline for the first time since 2022. According to CBRE, office vacancy in the city centre decreased by 6,000 sqm in the second half of 2025, with the vacancy rate now at 18.4%. In an interview with the New Zealand Herald, CBRE’s Head of Research and Executive Director Zoltan Moricz described the decrease as “good news for the market,” attributing it to tenants relocating and new office stock being completed. The completion of 30 Daldy Street was cited as one example, with Culum Manson of Mansons TCLM noting the building is “94% unconditionally leased,” with the remaining 6% soon to be announced.
JLL’s Market Dynamics New Zealand Q4 report reflected similar trends. It reported overall Auckland CBD office vacancy dropping to 16%, including the first decline in A‑grade vacancy in two and a half years. JLL described the current period as “complex” but noted that an improving economic backdrop is prompting more proactive steps from both investors and tenants. It expects the well-reported flight‑to‑quality trend to continue into 2026.
Colliers’ New Zealand Research Report, released in December 2025, also points to ongoing shifts in the office market. The report highlighted a growing preference among businesses to have staff working from the office throughout 2025, a trend it expects will continue into 2026. Colliers also anticipates that the flight‑to‑quality trend will therefore persist, with employers likely to invest in prime office space and enhanced amenities to support return‑to‑office arrangements. The opening of the City Rail Link (CRL) was also identified as a likely catalyst for change, with expectations of increased demand and reduced vacancies around the new transport links.
Retail vacancies continue to change
Retail vacancies in the city centre increased in the final quarter of 2025, in contrast to the office sector. JLL’s Q4 report noted that retail vacancy rose to 13.1%, up from 7.5% in the second quarter. Despite this increase, JLL reported “pockets of leasing activity across the CBD” in 2025, including in Commercial Bay, The Formery, Victoria Street West and Wakefield Street.
JLL anticipates that CBD midtown retail regeneration in 2026 will drive further tenant relocation and new demand. It highlighted 131 Queen Street, the future home of department store Faradays, as a notable addition scheduled to open in mid‑2026.
Business news
The final months of 2025 saw some much-loved businesses celebrate major milestones. We captured a few of them in our previous newsletter, including Park Hyatt marking its fifth birthday, and Hotel DeBrett celebrating its centenary.
2025 saw Melba Café, a much-loved coffee spot, celebrating 30 years of business in the city centre. We had a chat with Melba Group Director Shawn Pope about the milestone, his favourite memories in this iconic spot and what he loves about the city centre. Watch it here:
