Office vacancies tipped to top 10 per cent

Double-digit vacancy rates are being forecast for Auckland offices. Alan McMahon, research and consulting director of Colliers International, has today issued a report saying vacancies were already up on last year but he expects the amount of empty floorspace to rise.

"Wellington and Auckland CBD's are holding up quite well to date but we forecast double digit vacancy in both centres as the crop of new buildings under construction are filled," he said.

Auckland city fringe vacancies have risen from 5.7 per cent last year to 6.3 per cent.

"More alarmingly, the North Shore's overall office vacancy was as low as the city fringe at the end of 2007 but has since shot up to 10.6 per cent, the highest since our surveys began in 1995," McMahon said.

Rising Wellington and Auckland office vacancies were good news for tenants but bad for landlords because they pointed to a period of static or falling rental levels and capital values, particularly for lower grade, poorly located properties.

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Posted: 24 Apr 2009

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