Real estate services firm CBRE finds Queenstown industrial was the only sector in New Zealand in the first half of this year with zero vacancy, with steady demand having driven consistent rental growth over the past four years.
Local CBRE valuation director David Tristram isn’t expecting the constrained availability of land to be materially alleviated in the medium term.
"Proposed sites in Gibbston and Coneburn are among the only industrial land releases in the longer-term pipeline.
"Releases of land on the south side of Queenstown Airport have restrictive covenants that will only suit a small range of users, and proposed Gibbston and Coneburn sites are also likely to be less appealing to industrial occupiers than Frankton due to their location."
Some industrial businesses had shifted to Cromwell, but Tristram says many are absorbing rent increases because the extra travel and service costs made relocating uneconomical.
Meanwhile, the survey shows prime office vacancy in the Queenstown CBD and Frankton at 2.6% and secondary vacancy at 4.4% — with 70% of the vacant office space in the CBD.
Tristram says there’s latent demand for more purpose-designed office stock in Frankton.
