Regions boosted as more families leave Auckland

A new report has found that almost 33,000 people left Auckland for other parts of New Zealand over the four years to June 2017, with housing affordability and traffic being among the key reasons. The average Aucklander apparently spends around 450 hours per year in a car, either as driver or passenger - three times as much as the next highest area (Christchurch). While the exodus from Auckland is offset by immigration and a positive inflow of New Zealanders in the 20-24 age group, there are high outflows of people in their late 20s and 30s - the peak working years for many people. Read the full report.

The trend is reflected in the growing interest of many franchise buyers in regional opportunities. As this article revealed, many of New Zealand's most profitable franchises are based in the regions rather than the big cities, and recent winners of the Westpac Supreme Franchisee of the Year title have come from the provinces.