'Canterbury is firing!'

Colliers Christchurch has posted its best ever first quarter. Properties that sat unsold for years found buyers, substantial industrial deals moved at pace, and investor appetite for the city and region is the hottest the team has ever seen.

“Colliers Christchurch had a record year of performance in 2025 and that momentum has carried into 2026, marking our strongest start to a year to date,” General Manager Mark Macauley says.

The Christchurch team recently won the Franchise of the Year award for Colliers for 2025.

The result reflects the dominance of the Colliers team in the Canterbury market and the strength of the Canterbury economy, he says.

“Despite broader uncertainty in other New Zealand markets, the mood remains buoyant in Canterbury, with solid levels of activity and inquiry.”

The local and national buyers included listed and unlisted property funds, syndicate groups, and private investors.

The economic numbers support the sentiment.

Canterbury added business locations at 3.2 per cent over the past year – more than double the national rate – alongside employment growing for eight consecutive months with job ads 21 per cent higher in February than a year earlier, according to ChristchurchNZ, the regional economic development agency.

The shift in investor sentiment this year has been unmistakable.

“Canterbury is differentiated. People feel positive about investing here in bricks and mortar and confidence has returned strongly this year,” Macauley says.

One sign of how much has changed is properties that had sat on the market for months, even years, found buyers.

For example, a commercial property at 81 Riccarton Road was sold by Macauley and Investment Sales Broker Will Franks after a number of years on the market.

Macauley and Investment Sales Broker Marius Ogg also sold The Welder in Welles Street two years after it went up for sale.

Colliers Christchurch Director of Investment Sales Courtney Doig and Investment Sales Broker Ben Cameron sold medical premises at 3 Pilgrim Place that had been marketed for an extended period with another agency.

Similarly, a premium office at 337 St Asaph Street was sold by Courtney Doig and Director of Retail Leasing Nick Doig during a standard four-week campaign.

Industrial property has been a particular bright spot in the quarter.

Director of Industrial Sam Staite says inquiry levels and the pace of transactions were noteworthy.

Canterbury’s manufacturing sector recorded a Performance of Manufacturing Index of 60.1 in February – well above the expansion threshold of 50 and its highest reading in a year, BusinessNZ reported.

Building consents surged 37 per cent in the three months to February.

“Demand for industrial space has been the real story this quarter,” Staite says. “We’re not seeing hesitation – buyers know what they want and they’re moving fast.”

For instance, Staite and his team sold large premises at 10-16 Watts Road in Sockburn and 141 Hoskyns Road in Rolleston.

Other transactions included tenanted property at 119 Iport Drive in Rolleston and 39 Kingsford Smith Drive in Rangiora leased to Chipmunks playland.

Land scarcity is creating sustained upward pressure on both capital and rental values for industrial sites and occupancy remains tight across Christchurch, with vacancy between 2 to 5 per cent in most industrial areas, Staite says.

The industrial market doesn’t exist in isolation – it sits within a regional economy that has rarely looked stronger.

International visitor arrivals at Christchurch Airport were 17 per cent higher in the three months to January than a year prior. Accommodation occupancy hit 88 per cent in February, the highest monthly rate in over five years.

Electric Avenue attracted tens of thousands that month and the newly opened One NZ Stadium is set to become a regular drawcard for major events.

That upbeat atmosphere is reflected in buyer appetite, Courtney Doig says.

“Investors see good value for money in Christchurch as a place to invest and real room for their investments to grow,” she says.

Significant transactions for Doig and Franks included a multi-tenanted office and retail property at 485 Papanui Road, a residential development site at 277-279 Ilam Road, and The Link Shopping Centre in Rolleston.

That same confidence is playing out beyond the city limits.

In Ashburton, Macauley and Cameron sold a commercial portfolio site with The Warehouse, McDonald’s, Harvey Norman, and a Z Energy service station as tenants.

Macauley says the results speak to something bigger than one quarter’s pipeline for the only locally owned major commercial and industrial real estate company in Christchurch.

“Commercial real estate success is about having a skilled strategy and the right team, but the buoyant economic situation is a key element – and Canterbury is providing that environment right now.”

- Supplied by Colliers