Canterbury region on a roll
WELCOME to New Zealand’s newest, most exciting city – that’s the message from ChristchurchNZ on it’s guide – Christchurch a city of opportunity for Entrepreneurs
and Investment – and it’s hard to argue that the South Island’s largest city is also the one offering the most exciting prospects for the future.
The Guide goes on to say: ‘‘O¯ tautahi Christchurch embraces change and innovation, creating a strong economy and a vibrant place to live. Home to a wealth of employment opportunities and a thriving start-up ecosystem, Christchurch also offers an exceptional quality of life.
‘‘The city boasts an abundance of recreational activities, worldclass hospitality, retail and healthcare, and first-rate educational facilities. An attainable housing market at the heart of the South Island, with some of the world’s most stunning scenery on the city’s doorstep’’
‘‘Christchurch is a place of transformation – where change and innovation have been embraced, creating a strong economy and vibrant place to live. Christchurch offers substantial business and employment opportunities matched by an exceptional quality of life. The $40 billion post-earthquake rebuild continues at pace to deliver an attractive, modern, resilient and future-proofed city. Key sectors including technology, manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism and health are creating avenues for entrepreneurs and new investment across the city and region. Christchurch is the place to find your next investment or business opportunity.’’
Sounds great, and there’s plenty of evidence right now that Christchurch is the place to be for those wanting a great work life balance.
Jobs data
Recent TradeMe statistics show the power is firmly in the hands of workers right now as employers compete on pay to attract staff,
Trade Me Jobs sales director, Matt Tolich, said an analysis of more than 77,000 vacancies listed on the site found salaries boomed across New Zealand in the three months to June 30.
‘‘Nationwide, the average salary increased by 2% year-onyear, or $1068, to reach $66,016, while a number of regions around the country saw wages hit new records,’’ he said. Canterbury was one of them, recording its highest average salary in the second quarter.
Job listings were also up 5% in Canterbury.
Tolich said while it was a jobseeker’s market now, that could change in the second half of the year when borders open and migrants start to return.
Housing healthy
Good job prospects are one compelling reason to live in a particular area, but you also need someone to lay your head.
QV released statistics show the average Christchurch home increased in value by 0.5% in April 2022 to reach $801,614. However, expert commentators have said prices are likely to dip as the housing market cools.
CoreLogic data showed the number of new listings was about normal for this time of year, but buyers had more choice because sales were taking longer.
Figures released by the Real Estate Institute showed 497 homes sold in Christchurch in April, down from 718 in April last year.
Nationally the average home value fell by 2.2% over the three months to the end of April, with just five of 16 major urban areas – including Christchurch – bucking that trend.
New big box development Rolleston near Christchurch could become home to the South Island’s biggest bulk shopping centre if a plan by property developer the Carter Group gets the go-ahead.
To be called The Station, the development would have about 50 stores and eateries, including a large hardware barn and parking for almost 2000 cars.
The 18-hectare site is in the Rolleston industrial area near State Highway 1. It is part of the Christchurch-based Carter Group’s $500 million Iport business park.
If Selwyn District Council approves the resource consent application for The Station, Carter Group hopes construction would start next year. It would be built in stages over several years.
The Station plan includes space for a potential park-and-ride facility and bus station, alongside Rolleston’s existing city-bound railway station.
Bucking the working from home trend
Christchurch’s topography makes it a great place to cycle, not only for recreation but as a communiting option too and they city’s network of cycleways have proved popular. Now new data from Colliers shows that Cantabrians are ready to ditch the work from home habit and get back to the office.
Brynn Burrows, Colliers’ director of office leasing in Christchurch said while working from home was a viable alternative during lockdown and for vulnerable people, local businesses were now keen to have their workers back in the office for much of the week.
‘‘We know of some businesses that are actively encouraging their staff back into the office,’’ Burrows said, ‘‘but the trend here has always been quite different from the rest of the country.’’
‘‘That is because Christchurch is such an easy city to live in and get around,’’ he said.
‘‘We don’t have traffic congestion, we have good arterial routes, a robust bus service, ample carparking and our city cycleways are arguably the best in the country among the main centres,’’ Burrows said.
‘‘I think the working-fromhome phenomena is past its peak in Christchurch.’’
At the start of the year, businesses and organisations considering a shift to new premises decided to wait because they were often dealing with alternating teams in the office to prevent the spread of Covid, he said.
Now that more staff were returning to the office, businesses were looking afresh at their space needs.
‘‘Enquiry is really picking up but there is insufficient stock to satisfy the growing demand.’’
Agri-economy
Christchurch’s location on the edge of a highly productive foodgrowing region with a temperate climate, high rainfall and fertile land means the city has become a hub for agribusiness research and agri-tech innovation. An established and expanding irrigation network across the region is creating a substantial increase in land productivity, as well as greater scope for diversification into higher value production and processing.
Some 4.7% of Canterbury’s GDP is from agriculture and the sector employs over 11,800 people.
South Canterbury boom Infometrics data for Timaru, for the January to March 2022 quarter, shows non-residential building consents up 100.5% and residential consents up 29.4% compared to the previous year.
These current conditions are expected to ramp up in the South Canterbury region with major builds coming up including the redevelopment of the Theatre Royal, Aorangi Stadium, the $344m rebuild of Scott Base, at PrimePort Timaru – set to create 700 new jobs in the region, the largest public housing project in 50 years for the region beginning next year and Showgrounds Hill development.