Auckland in the world’s top 20 most dynamic cities

Press Release – JLL

AUCKLAND, 5 February 2016 Auckland has appeared in the top 20 of the worlds most dynamic cities in JLLs latest City Momentum Index (CMI).Auckland in the world’s top 20 most dynamic cities

AUCKLAND, 5 February 2016 – Auckland has appeared in the top 20 of the world’s most dynamic cities in JLL’s latest City Momentum Index (CMI).

The city’s ongoing development of the Wynyard Quarter, the proposed City Rail Link and healthy innovation ecosystem are amid several contributing factors that have supported Auckland’s position (20th) among the world’s ‘most sustainable and liveable cities’.

JLL’s City Momentum Index (CMI), now in its third year, tracks the speed of change of a city’s economy and commercial real estate market, identifying those cities which have the most dynamic urban economies and are adapting most rapidly to the imperatives of technological and infrastructural transformation.

JLL’s report covers 120 major established and emerging business hubs across the globe, the Index measures a city’s short-term socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum (over a three-year horizon) in combination with measures of ‘future-proofing’ – whether a city has the essential ingredients to ensure longer-term sustainable momentum in terms of education, innovation and environment.

Global Cities Advisor and Chairman for JLL’s Cities Research Center, Greg Clark says, “Auckland has revolutionised its urban form to become an intensifying, innovative city that offers a complete set of liveability choices. The Wynyard Quarter and the innovation precinct are becoming world renowned and have registered Auckland on the Richter scale of global real estate as being a city with significant momentum.”

Justin Kean, Head of Research at JLL New Zealand says, “Among the smaller cities in the JLL CMI, Auckland is punching above its weight to achieve a truly global reach even without a significant economy of scale. The ongoing redevelopment of the Wynyard Quarter, proposed city rail link and a dynamic tech sector is driving significant demand for new commercial real estate, with Auckland likely to experience the most vigorous office rental growth of any city in the CMI over the course of this year.”

Auckland was ranked along with cities Dublin and Austin, as the smallest cities in the CMI, with populations of between 1-2 million people, but still among the most dynamic city economies globally that have been able to achieve global reach despite their size.

With globalisation and technology enabling more cities than ever before to ‘go global’, a number of smaller ‘New World Cities’ are gaining rapid momentum and competing in highly contested global markets. In an earlier JLL report, ‘Globalisation and Competition: The New World of Cities’, Auckland was ranked 16th as a New World City, these being categorised as ‘smaller, high-income cities with efficient infrastructure, an attractive quality of life, and fewer social, environmental or economic externalities such as crime, pollution, congestion, high costs or inequality.’

Clark says, “In this new era of city competition, success is no longer purely about size or inherited attributes, but revolves around innovation, liveability and a city’s ability to transform and adapt to a constantly changing socio-economic landscape. There are lots of reasons why Auckland is coming to prominence. Auckland offers the appetite of investment capital a safe, high quality venture as well as mobile talent, a great place to live.”

Kean says, “This is Auckland’s best ever performance in the JLL study and a key indicator that we are beginning to reach the global forefront in terms of encouraging international real estate interest. The Trans-Pacific Partnership will improve our link with the other regions and will have a huge impact on the connecting of capital for real estate, painting a positive future for commercial real estate market in New Zealand.”

ENDS

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