Wellington Figures Q3 2025

Key Points:

• During H1, the vacancy rate in the Wellington CBD office market increased to 18.0% from 14.3%, mainly due to a rise in vacant stock in Secondary buildings, particularly Grade B assets. However, the Prime CBD office submarket remains a relatively healthy one compared to Auckland and Australian cities.
• Wellington's office vacancy rate is expected to peak in 2027 due to unoccupied space in Secondary buildings, but will gradually decrease by 2028-2029.
• The Wellington investment market remained subdued due to government austerity measures and public sector losses, resulting in limited transactions and stable market yields in Q2.
• In Q2, face rents in both Prime and Secondary CBD office submarkets declined, with some buildings experiencing rent adjustments while others remained stable.  Meanwhile, the retail and industrial markets registered stable face rents in Q2.
• After a promising start to the year, economic conditions have softened. A more optimistic outlook for 2026 reflects some of the main economic growth drivers turning positive. The large fall in interest rates, hint of a rise in net migration, a solid rise in export prices and the lower NZD are good reasons to expect a reasonable year-ahead GDP growth.