A vacant lifestyle section in Queenstown has sold for more than $6 million, as out of towners look to snap up second homes in the resort town.
The 3.1ha section sold within days of being listed to an out-of-town buyer looking to build a second home in the exclusive Forestlines development.
The sale price is the highest for a vacant land block in Queenstown-Lakes District, eclipsing the $4.86m paid for a 1.337ha section on Jacks Point in September last year, according to figures from OneRoof’s data partner, Valocity.
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A sale is also the second record smashed by the Forestlines development. A luxury lodge on a 1.359ha section in the gated community recently sold for $25.75m, the highest price paid for a residential property in the district.
Ray White Epsom agent Ross Hawkins, who sold the vacant plot with Queenstown agent Bas Smith, said the views were spectacular and the site, which is cut into the mountain off Moke Lake Road, was arguably the best in the district.
“You are in total wilderness but you can be in downtown Queenstown in just a few minutes' drive, very quickly,” he said.
Hawkins, who also closed the $25.75m deal for Forestlines lodge, said there were no other properties between the lake and the site.
“It’s not right on the water because down below – which is well down below – is the Glenorchy-Queenstown Road, but you don’t see that as you are looking straight out to mountains and the lake.”
This luxury lodge in the Forestlines development for more than $25m. Photo / Supplied
Purchasing a second or part-time home outside of Auckland was becoming more and more common, he said.
Within days of the property being listed off market, Hawkins had a buyer. “With what’s been happening in the last two years in New Zealand, there’s a lot more focus on lifestyle and working from home and all those sorts of things now and people having not travelled for the last couple of years are really focussing on the beautiful spots we have here in New Zealand and having a lifestyle here on our shores.”
Bayleys Frankton agent Gavin Castles said there was strong demand from Aucklanders as well as Australians for high-end properties in the area.
Queenstown’s accessibility was a real driver as people were relocating from Auckland and then just flying back to the city for the day for face-to-face to meetings. “They just don’t want to be living in Auckland, to be honest.”
Just last week Castles had buyers from Queensland fly in on their private jet for a day and put an offer on a property in Queenstown Hill.
“Australians are back with a vengeance.”
Direct flights into Queenstown hadn’t even resumed yet, but Australians were travelling to Queenstown via Wellington, Auckland or Christchurch to get a slice of the action.
“I’ve got more people looking at $5m-plus than I’ve got looking at $1m plus. These guys are not phased by the banks because they have cash.”
Demand for all types of sections in Queenstown Lakes has been strong for more than a year.
A five-bedroom house on a 2.67ha section in Dalefield recently sold for $3.9m. Photo / Supplied
Castles, who sold a 1010 sqm single dwelling site that was formerly part of the old Arrowtown Primary School for $2.25m and two neighbouring empty sections for $2.25m and $2.3m in mind-2021, said the same sections would fetch a higher price if he was selling them in today’s market.
Last month he sold a 1970s house on a 2.67ha section on Littles Road in Dalefield – between Frankton and Arrowtown - for $3.9m.
“The house had no value at all so it was basically a bare land purchased.”
Harcourts Queenstown agent Simon Hayes said demand for smaller more affordable residential sections in Queenstown was probably even higher than for the larger high-end sections that were predominantly attracting people from around New Zealand and Australia.
“More people want to move here than what to move away,” he said.
Sections in Shotover Country and Hanley’s Farm sold for between $350,000 and $500,000 and sections were hard to come by. “There’s huge demand across the whole market – we certainly haven’t got a surplus of anything,” he said.
