{"id":525741,"date":"2026-06-09T06:33:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/525741\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T06:33:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T06:33:42","slug":"why-aucklands-economic-recovery-seems-continually-out-of-reach-the-front-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/525741\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Auckland\u2019s economic recovery seems continually out of reach \u2013 The Front Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u200alook back at the the period from after the GFC [Global Financial Crisis] through to Covid, and it looks very stable now. And you go, \u2018wow, why didn\u2019t we just really take advantage of that?\u2019 But that\u2019s with hindsight \u2013 it still felt uncertain. There\u2019s no predicting the future,\u201d Dann says. <\/p>\n

Dann says the city\u2019s current malaise can\u2019t be explained by any single event.<\/p>\n

In 2024, hopes of a rebound were undermined by rising interest rates. In 2025, confidence took a hit from global tariff uncertainty. This year, the Iran conflict and rising oil prices have pushed a recovery a little further into the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome economists think the quarter we\u2019re in right now will be a contraction. At best, it\u2019s going to be very flat,\u201d Dann says.<\/p>\n

For businesses already struggling through a prolonged downturn, the repeated false starts are taking a toll.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s psychologically a real blow to retailers, people running food outlets, hospitality, all that sort of thing,\u201d Dann says.<\/p>\n

The effects are particularly visible in Auckland\u2019s construction sector. The city is home to around a third of the country\u2019s population, but is suffering 60% of the construction job losses.<\/p>\n

“\u200aYou can just see, when you walk around Auckland, it\u2019s not booming. There aren\u2019t cranes up over the skyline, and it affects the whole economy both in a direct sense in terms of there are fewer people employed, so we\u2019ve got higher unemployment in Auckland because there\u2019s construction workers and builders and tradies with not enough work,” Dann says.<\/p>\n

The health of Auckland\u2019s economy also relies heavily on the service sector, which in turn relies heavily on a buoyant property market.<\/p>\n

\u201cA large chunk of that service sector runs around the property sector. So it\u2019s people who do landscaping, roofing fixing up your house. And when property owners as they are now, aren\u2019t feeling good about the value of their property they\u2019re less likely to invest in doing all those upgrades and all that sort of stuff that keeps people employed in Auckland,\u201d Dann says.<\/p>\n

While downturns are a natural part of the economic cycle, the prolonged nature of the current slump is a less common occurrence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in Auckland it\u2019s been recessionary. Certainly a per capita recession, or a recessionary vibe for five or four years,\u201d Dann says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty tough. That\u2019s getting historically unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the gloomy outlook, Dann remains convinced Auckland will eventually rebound. He believes there is still significant demand waiting on the sidelines, with developers and investors poised to move when conditions improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be surprising if in the next couple of years, maybe three years from now, there wasn\u2019t a sort of a flip side, a boom and cranes back up on the skyline,\u201d Dann says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly haven\u2019t given up on Auckland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen to the full episode<\/b><\/a> to hear more on:<\/b><\/p>\n