One Queenstown real estate agency says the recent school holidays didn’t just benefit tourism businesses.
Harcourts Queenstown sales manager Priscilla Uhrle says there’s been a noticeable uplift in buyers literally walking through the door.
And they weren’t just browsing.
‘‘Last week saw an out-of-town investor walk in off the street wanting a new-build opportunity.
‘‘They now have an agreed offer on an in-town apartment off plans.’’
Uhrle says in other instances, a couple from Christchurch walked in, talked to a sales consultant, and put forward an offer on a managed apartment in the CBD, while an Auckland couple visiting during the first week of the holidays popped in, viewed a property that morning, and were bidding on it at auction by noon the same day.
In the first half of the year, 32% of Harcourts Queenstown property sales were to buyers looking for a lock-and-leave holiday home, or short-term investment property, while their most-recent market report analysis shows 55% of all buyers in Queenstown for the first half of 2022 are from out of town, and 10% of those are from overseas, she says.
Harcourts Otago’s most-recent market report says Queenstown dwelling sales prices have experienced a ‘‘slight softening’’ over autumn when compared to summer, however the June median house sale price of $1,250,000 is still ‘‘well up’’ on June, 2021’s $1,125,000.
The report notes there’s a supply shortage in the Whakatipu — realestate.co.nz says Central Otago/Lakes’ ‘‘new listings’’ last month were down 21.3% compared to the same month last year, the most significant decrease in the country.
