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CBD facts and figures

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The economy of Auckland's CBD

Auckland's CBD plays many roles in the regional and national economy. It provides a hub for professional services, a centre for culture, recreation and leisure, and a focal point for higher education, international visitors and marine activities.

Businesses choose a CBD location because it offers a high prestige location, ease of access for staff and clients, close proximity to clients, suppliers and competitors, and access to a full range of amenities including shops, services, cafes and restaurants.

Key facts

• Auckland's CBD had a total of 78,444 employees and 9,461 businesses in 2006 (compared to 72,540 employees and 9125 businesses in 2004).
• The CBD has a higher share of its employment in large firms than the rest of Auckland. Over half of the large firms are in the office-based sectors (finance and insurance, and property and business services), which are concentrated in the downtown and waterfront areas. The CBD's share of employment in large firms has increased slightly since 2004.

Education sector

• Between 2000 and 2006, employment growth in the education sector occurred much faster in the CBD than in the rest of Auckland.  
• Currently there are 28,600 foreign fee-paying students in the CBD, 58 per cent of New Zealand's total. These students bring an estimated economic benefit of $876.6 million for the Auckland region.

Culture, recreation, entertainment and tourism sectors

• The CBD has a large share of the Auckland region's tourism accommodation activity, with two thirds of the region's hotel employment and half of the region's total accommodation employment in 2006.
• In 2005, the average length of stay for overnight visitors to Auckland was 6.27 nights for international and 2.35 nights for domestic visitors. This is a slight decrease of 0.21 nights for domestic visitors, but a substantial decline of 2.93 nights for international visitors since 2002.
• CBD employment in cultural and recreational services increased slightly between 2004 and 2005, but declined the following year, with a decrease of 290 employees. In 2006, this sector employed over 4,000 people, comprising 5 per cent of the CBD's total employment.
• In 2006, this sector's percentage of employment in the CBD had decreased, with 41 per cent of the city and 25 per cent of the region's employment located in the city. This is due to a slight decrease in employment in this sector in the CBD and an increase in the rest of the city and region.

Retail sector

• The CBD's retail growth, particularly food retailing, has slowed down over the last two years. Previously, growth was spread across a wider range of retail types.
• Between 2004 and 2006, CBD retail sales increased in real terms by an estimated $200-400 million, to reach an estimated total of $1.6 -$1.8billion in 2006.

Building activity

• The number and value of building consents in the CBD has decreased since 2004. In 2006, there were 78 building consents for about 800 units in the CBD. The vast majority of units were for residential uses and nearly all were apartments (733 units). Residential apartment consents in the CBD harbour side area were of a higher average value per unit than the rest of the CBD.

Office vacancy

• Demand for office space in the CBD has been increasing. In December 2006, the CBD's overall office vacancy rate was 8.3 per cent, compared to 9 per cent in January 2005 and 12 per cent in January 2004. In the prime office space market, there was a vacancy rate of 1.9 per cent in December 2006, compared to 5.2 per cent in January 2005. The vacancy rate for secondary office space actually increased slightly to 11.5 per cent in December 2006.