Auckland has knocked the Otago region down a peg to second place in ASB’s latest regional economic scoreboard, which ranks the economic performance of the country’s regions on employment, construction, retail trade and house prices.
After being tied-first in the previous quarter, Otago came in at "a close second" in the final quarter of last year but still managed to deliver strong results across several metrics, the report said.
The region experienced the strongest house price growth of any region last year, for the second quarter in a row, rising by 2.7% in the face of a national decline of 0.7%.
Retail sales increased 5.1% year over year and car sales were up 15.4%, while construction consents fell 10.1% — in line with the national average decline.
Business South chief executive Mike Collins said it was important to step back and look at our success on a national level and not dwell on "who’s pipping who at the post".
"It’s good to be seen at a national level to get results like that, as opposed to squabbling over whether or not we’re first or second."
Mr Collins said there was quite a demand for housing due to the current shortage, which had driven prices up as more people flocked into Dunedin.
It was getting more expensive to live in Dunedin from a housing perspective, which was informed mainly by stock and affordability, he said.
Otago received the award for "one of the most welcoming regions in the world," which reflected its commitment to tourism and hospitality, the report said.
Mr Collins said the tourism sector was definitely bouncing back post-pandemic.
A lot more people were applying for roles despite a labour shortage.
"Hospitality, retail — those kinds of sectors are seeing a bounce back."
There was a sense of growth on the horizon in Otago, Mr Collins said.
People were waiting to see what short-term changes the government would put into play for long-term gain, and there was a lot of optimism around the future, he said.
Players in the industry were ensuring their planning was in order to set Otago up to capitalise on incoming government aid, he said.
"We’re trying to position Otago strongly on the back of that growth to ensure that we can just keep that momentum growing.’
The report echoed Mr Collins’ outlook, classifying Otago as "heating up" and expected the region to accelerate or at least maintain economic momentum over the next six to 12 months.
