Bare sections in Queenstown Lakes are attracting heat, with a quarter acre section selling under the hammer to an expat from Hong Kong for $2.25 million.
The 1010sqm site on Caernarvon Street, in Arrowtown, attracted 19 bids in total, with the proceedings kicking off at $1.5m and the property going on the market at $2.025m.
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The listing agent, Bayleys’ Gavin Castles, said the sale price was “massive” for Arrowtown, adding that there was strong demand for property in the town.
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“By square metre, Arrowtown is one of the most expensive places to buy property at the moment,” he said.
The site was formerly part of the old Arrowtown Primary School and was owned by a charitable trust, which sold the neighbouring empty section last month for $2.3m.
Both sites are zoned for a single dwelling, and the trust is considering listing a third piece of land it owns.
Castles said unoccupied sites of 1000sqm or more were a rarity in the town, which made the two sections extremely valuable.
A modern property across the road from the former Arrowtown Primary School site sold under the hammer for $3.49m. Photo / Supplied
“The trust wasn’t planning on selling but the land just got so valuable,” he said.
The sale prices of both sections are remarkable given that a four-bedroom heritage-style house on a quarter acre section across the road sold on the same day for $3.49m, more than $1.5m above its 2017 rating valuation.
And another four-bedroom tenanted home on a 679sqm section on nearby Arrowtown-Lake Hayes Road fetched $2.53m, more than $1m above its RV.
Bayleys agent Wayne Café, who was marketing the four-bedroom home on Caernarvon with Alan Sutton, said he had more than 100 groups through the open homes.
“It was a spectacular home of high quality, built recently according to heritage values and consisted of natural materials such as stones, timber, iron with quality design features,” he said.
