Sustainability and quality are shaping New Zealand's offices

Results from JLL’s latest Auckland and Wellington CBD office survey (December 2025) reveal a market that remains clearly segmented, with vacancy outcomes increasingly driven by a combination of building quality, location and sustainability performance.

Overall CBD office vacancy across Auckland and Wellington currently stands at 16.6%, reflecting the lingering effects of hybrid working, subdued business confidence and limited net absorption through much of 2024 and 2025. While this headline figure suggests a challenging leasing environment, it continues to mask significant variation across different building types.

Focusing on Prime-grade office space, vacancy tightens to 9.9%. This reinforces a long-standing pattern within both CBD. Occupiers continue to favour well-located, high-quality buildings that offer efficient floorplates, strong amenities and the ability to support modern workplace requirements. Even in a softer demand environment, these assets remain comparatively resilient.

The picture becomes more differentiated when sustainability credentials are considered alongside traditional quality metrics. Prime buildings with Green Star and NABERSNZ ratings record vacancy of 7.6%, outperforming the broader Prime market. The result is substantial given the elevated level of overall vacancy and moderated leasing momentum.

Most notable is the performance of NABERSNZ-rated Prime buildings, where vacancy sits at just 4.2%. In practical terms, these assets are operating close to frictional vacancy levels, suggesting a depth of occupier demand not seen elsewhere in the market.

Figure 1: Auckland and Wellington CBD office vacancy rates

Source: JLL Research

These results should not be interpreted as sustainability credentials replacing core building fundamentals. Location, design quality, efficiency, transport connectivity, surrounding amenities and landlord capability remain the primary drivers of leasing performance. However, sustainability ratings are increasingly enhancing these strengths, particularly where multiple high-quality options exist within the same submarket.

For occupiers, sustainability is typically considered alongside broader commercial factors rather than in isolation. Buildings with strong energy performance and transparent, independently verified ratings may offer greater certainty around operating costs and alignment with corporate environmental objectives. This assurance can support decision-making at the margin.

For owners, the survey highlights the role sustainability can play in maintaining competitiveness during periods of subdued demand. Assets that combine strong fundamentals with credible performance ratings may be better positioned to attract and retain tenants, while also mitigating longer-term obsolescence risk.

Looking ahead, as economic conditions stabilise and occupier confidence continues to improve, competition for demand is likely to remain concentrated within a narrower pool of buildings. In this context, the interaction between quality, location and sustainability is expected to become even more influential in shaping vacancy outcomes across both Auckland and Wellington CBDs.