- Weekly rent for luxury homestead in Queenstown Lakes is 25 times the national average.
- The five-bedroom home offers tenants a heated pool, sauna, gym, and scenic views.
- Renters can get a small discount if they commit to a longer tenancy.
A luxury homestead in Queenstown Lakes with an RV of more than $8 million could be yours for just $15,000. Unfortunately, that isn’t the sale price but the weekly rent.
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The five-bedroom heritage home at 19 Ellen Johnson Terrace, in Lake Hayes, is available from April next year but the rental listing has gone live on OneRoof to give potential tenants enough time to get their ducks in a row.
Those willing to commit to a longer tenancy can get a bit of a discount – with the landlords offering a monthly rate of $60,000, which works out at just under $14,000 a week.
Even with the discount, the rent is almost 25 times the average weekly rent in New Zealand and 20 times the average weekly rent in Queenstown-Lakes.
The five-bedroom renovated property, The Homestead, comes with a pool, spa, gym, boatshed and fire pit on the edge of Lake Hayes. Photo / Supplied
The pool and gardens include a heritage orchard, vegetable beds and a wildflower meadow. Photo / Supplied
Listing agent Cam Winter, of Oliver Road Queenstown, told OneRoof the owners were working to complete another property project nearby so had decided to rent out their homestead for an extended period of time.
The homestead has previously been rented out for shorter periods, and has hosted several A-listers and VIPs.
Winter said that while some people might struggle to get their head around the price point, “the reality is that it’s the typical cost versus value sort of equation”.
“There are plenty of short-term properties of a similar calibre that are rented out for one or two weeks to a maximum of a month. It’s a very private, substantial estate that has attracted A-listers and others capable of paying up to $12,000 a night over the peak season.”
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For their money, tenants will get a luxury home with a heated swimming pool and hot tub, sauna and gym, petanque court, croquet lawns, a fire pit, all set on 6.15 hectares of land with lake and mountain views.
The Homestead is currently available for short-term stays, from $7500 to $12,500 per night, for a minimum of five nights. Guests have the option to call on the services of a chef, driver, personal trainer or babysitter.
The house was renovated to a design by architect Andrew Patterson. It has a library, wine room, an art lobby (the owners’ extensive collection is displayed throughout the house), marble bathrooms and multiple fireplaces. There is even a grand piano and a courtyard with a giant chess board for entertainment, and as well as the pool pavilion there are other outdoor lounges in the orchard and gym.
The property has a manager’s cottage, so renters can bring their own staff, but housekeeping, gardening and property maintenance are included in the rates.
The 6.15-hectare property has lake and mountain views and rents in the summer for up to $12,500 per week. Photo / Supplied
Residents get to gather their own food from the heritage orchard, chicken coop and organic herb vegetable garden, pick flowers from the wildflower meadow, lavender beds and groomed gardens (the house comes with a flower-arranging room and garden library) and walk the 3km of trails around the farm paddocks and lake-side wetlands.
Winter said his company was marketing the rental through the Institute of Luxury Home Marketing to some 100 international websites specialising in luxury rentals, but renters could also be locals.
“The potential tenants could be someone who perhaps lives locally but are in the process of building a property themselves,” he said.
“Whilst our area of speciality is the sale of luxury properties, we simply couldn’t pass on the pleasure of representing such a special property on the international stage. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we’ve already fielded enquiry from several groups out of the US and Europe.”
The Homestead made headlines in 2015 when the then Singapore-based owners gained Overseas Investment Office approval to invest in the rundown property, which had been passed over by numerous less-brave buyers. The nearly three-year renovation restored the original homestead, built from local beech, enhanced the surrounding buildings and restored the neighbouring wetland.
The homestead and farm were previously owned by former Queenstown mayor Jim Boult for 10 years.
- 19 Ellen Johnson Terrace, Lake Hayes, Queenstown is available to rent from April 2025
