The latest data from property company Colliers reveals commercial investor confidence has increased in all centres nationwide compared with one year ago.

Auckland commercial property confidence was at 28 per cent last month, a big boost from the pessimistic -17 per cent seen in September 2010.

Investors looking at commercial property in the Wellington region remained negative with -25 per cent confidence last month but this was an improvement on the -33 per cent reported a year earlier.

However confidence from investors in the Christchurch region lifted significantly in the last quarter, at 25 per cent.

This was up from a negative -33 per cent in March following February's earthquake which had a devastating impact on commercial buildings in the area.

Queenstown investors were also more optimistic than they were a year ago, at 23 per cent in September compared to -1 per cent in the same month in 2010.

Hamilton investors were feeling 8 per cent confidence, up from -12 per cent last year. Tauranga/Mt Maunganui investors' confidence was at 14 per cent compared with 5 per cent in September last year.

Palmerston North commercial property investor confidence was at -10 per cent, an improvement from -20 per cent the same time last year. Napier/Hastings property investors were feeling similar, at -10 per cent in September compared with -20 per cent a year ago.

Confidence in Dunedin was at -4 per cent, up from -17 per cent one year previously. Whangarei commercial property investors were at -5 per cent confidence, up from -20 per cent the same time last year.

By sector, investors were most confident about industrial property in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

Retail property was the least attractive to investors in both Christchurch and Auckland, while Wellington investors looked on office property investments the most poorly.

Looking at averages of the nationwide figures, confidence in commercial property investment was shown to have dipped slightly this quarter, at 7 per cent for the three months to September, down from 10 per cent in the previous quarter.

- © Fairfax NZ News