About Dunedin
Dunedin is home to the “scarfy” (meaning Uni of Otago student) and has a tradition of offering high level tertiary learning and
qualifications mixed with the chance to have a heck of a lot of fun with other likeminded young people from around NZ and the world.
Investors have the option of purchasing and/or developing in the “melting pot”, being the streets closest to the Campus on the north side
for mostly 2nd year students, fresh out of a year in the Student Halls to enjoy or invest a street or two, or suburb back in either
direction of the Campus and provide accommodation for the slightly more decerning student being mainly 3rd to 5th year students.
Dunedin however is no one-horse town. Dunedin and its surrounding area have had above average population growth matched with significant
growth in property values and rental levels.
Confidence in the city is high. The growth in townhouse developments being offered and purchased by both out of town investors and owner
occupiers has been significant in the last 24 months, especially in south Dunedin and surrounding flat suburbs. 36 townhomes in Caversham
are due for completion in 2022, the largest non-student housing development in decades.
One of the key drivers to the recent surge in growth and now shortage of rental accommodation is the positive impact and growth of the city
resulting from a new Hospital being built in the city centre. Added to that is the announcement by the University of Otago of significant
investment in infrastructure on the campus alongside and after the Hospital rebuild.
Of interest to both “mum and dad investors” as well as large property developers will also be the adoption by the Dunedin City Council of
its Second Generation Plan (2GP), which among other things has provided the opportunity for investors to develop inner city sites which
previously were not zoned capable of medium density development.
Another key driver of the growth of Dunedin has been the explosion in tourism over the 5 years prior to COVID-19. Dunedin averaged 5,500
visitors daily, many of whom have made the trip south to see Dunedin’s renowned wildlife and heritage for themselves. A growing part of
this sector is the cruise ship industry, which doubled in five years. 130 cruise ships were booked to visit the City of Dunedin via Port
Chalmers for the 2020-21 Cruise Ship Season. Dunedin also has an international reputation for fashion design and another major emerging
sector in Dunedin is the gaming development industry. New Zealand’s Centre of Digital Excellence (CoDE) is located in Dunedin city centre
and it’s likely that Dunedin will become the epicentre of video game development in New Zealand.
