The local council has decided to buy a house in Queenstown. The property is on one of the main gateways to Queenstown. This is a strategic investment which will hopefully benefit the community whilst retaining the rural nature of the strip. In 2017 land in this area became capable of fairly high density residential development, which is seen by the community as controversial with many preferring to have a more picturesque gateway to Queenstown.

I have been a little bit surprised recently seeing evidence of Wanaka property buyers making what appears from the outside uneducated and poorly informed choices. Is it panic buying after missing out for months or just letting the heart lead the head? There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to the choices that some buyers are making when it comes to purchasing, when I try to analyse from afar.

Has there been any sign of a slow down in the Wanaka and Queenstown property market – one of the hottest questions on the block. I initially thought that the new legislation had impacted but to be honest I have retracted all these thoughts in the past 2 weeks.

When the options have seemed slim for those keen to get on the Wanaka property ladder in recent months, buying land and building has been a popular option. Absentee buyers and busy people had traditionally been most keen on buying an existing home, the ability to have an advocate on the ground however, has made the opportunity to build a reality for a number of my clients.

Probing discussions this week with a corporate type individual had me reinforcing my belief in the dual agent system prevalent within the Australian real estate market. Here there is an agent for home buyers separate to the vendors agent, unlike we traditionally have in NZ.

The current market is such that trying to buy a property in Wanaka can be a frustrating task. A great buyers’ agent can be your eyes and ears on the ground so that you hear about all opportunities the minute they materialize. In the current market many properties are selling within hours of coming on the market.

As a property search agent I hear about buyers missing out in the fast-paced property market in Wanaka, Arrowtown and Queenstown on a regular basis. There is such a cost to missing out on a property – not just the tangible expenses invested in the research process, but in a market like at the moment, the opportunity cost can be significant.

Wanaka real estate is in an interesting phase at the moment – there are a few factors that could potentially affect the prices in the coming months. The most significant of which is supply. Demand is outstripping supply. Opportunity cost is really affecting those that are out of the market for any length of time.

Wanaka rural lifestyle properties are a sought after commodity. There are some real gems out there when it comes to lifestyle blocks but you need to be ready to pounce the minute they come on the market and even better still have your ear or someone’s out waiting for just the right block to rear its head.

It’s that time of the year when the number of Wanaka houses for sale start to increase. There are always off market listings on my radar and vendors canvassing my opinion before making their selling decisions.