Investment returns on offices in the main centres are at their lowest in 16 years, says a Property Council New Zealand survey.
Central city offices recorded a 5.2% drop in return in the year to June, due mainly to falling property values, particularly in Auckland.
Property Council chairman Alan McMahon says individual investors are buying CBD offices but institutional buyers, which had been the mainstay of the market for several years, are entirely absent.
The individual investors are looking for "pretty sharp prices", he says.
