Christchurch Figures Q3 2023

Key Points:

• Rents remained stable during Q3 2023 in the office and retail markets. However, the industrial market continued to benefit from rental growth, albeit at a slower rate than previous quarters. Also, incentives remained unchanged across all markets.
• Christchurch continues to benefit from overseas tourism. International visitor spending in Christchurch during Q2 2023 was up by 150% compared to Q2 2022 and up by 43% compared to Q2 2019 (a pre-Covid period).
• During H1 2023, the office market experienced more activity than during the previous six months. Both the Christchurch CBD and suburban office markets experienced a decline in vacancy.
• Only one new office building was introduced to the CBD office market during H1 2023. Another new building and two refurbished ones are expected to be completed in H2.
• The industrial market continues to perform well. Vacancy is only 0.8% and the development market is buoyant. Circa 80,000 sqm of new industrial stock completed in H1, reflecting the high demand that characterises this market.
• While there is a limited volume of transactions providing pricing benchmarks, our market interactions point to continued upward pressure on yields.