Getting to the bottom of CBD vacancies

Vacancies on Broadway in Newmarket, Auckland, are up. (Image: Hayden Woodward)

Tue, 08 Jul 2025

Market watchers say elevated retail vacancy rates in urban centres are the result of multiple simultaneous and overlapping factors.In Bayleys' most recent retail market update, the firm said property performance is “patchy” in urban areas but highlighted “significantly higher” vacancy rates within city centres than in large-format and trade retail.It calculated the vacancy rate in the Auckland central business district (CBD) at 13%, almost three times that of any other urban area. In Wellington CBD, the retail vacanc...

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