- A trophy home in Dalefield sold for $9 million after one viewing by a local family.
- The deal was contingent on the vendors securing another property, facilitated by Sarena Glass and Sarah McBride.
- Glass noted increased interest in the Queenstown-Lakes area, especially with changes to foreign buyer rules.
A trophy home in the midst of a full-scale renovation sold for $9 million after one viewing.
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But Bayleys listing agent Sarena Glass told OneRoof that the off-market deal almost didn't happen.
The 1.2ha spread on Speargrass Flat Road, in Dalefield, Queenstown-Lakes, was snapped by a young local family for more than double the RV.
“I had asked the owners about a month prior if they wanted to sell, and they said no. It was a categorical no,” Glass told OneRoof.
But they then found something they thought suited them better than their own home, which they were busy rebuilding and upgrading. “So, they came back to me and said, ‘Oh, we’re keen to have a go at this, but we need to sell our house,’" Glass said.
An aerial view of the luxury estates on Speargrass Flat Road. The vendors were in the middle of upgrading their home. Photo / Supplied
Properties close to the upmarket Ayrburn food and wine precinct are in demand, agents say. Photo / Jason Oxenham
“I went back to the original buyer and said, ‘It’s available.’ The deal was done after one viewing, cash unconditional. The deal was obviously on the basis that the vendors secured the other property, which took some time.”
Glass, who did the Dalefield deal with colleague Sarah McBride, said the buyers had been looking for around six months.
“They were the perfect buyers sitting there ready to pounce if the right opportunity presented itself. It was a short brief, but a very specific brief, and that property ticked all the boxes: location and land, a flat sight in the right spot.”
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She added: “They will make something pretty special on that site, they’ll add value, and it will end up being one of the best properties in the region.”
Glass and McBride also sold a new-build property on the same road for $7.3m. The four-bedroom house, which sits on a 5500sqm site, is slated for completion in early 2026 and was snapped up by another local buyer.
Glass said that that particular corner of the Wakatipu basin, near the Ayrburn food and wine precinct, was popular with buyers. “They want to be close to Arrowtown, but not quite in Arrowtown.”
Glass said that while door-knocking was rare in their patch, homeowners in the prestige, $7m-plus market were open to having those conversations.
A local buyer paid $7.3m for a four-bedroom retreat, also on Speargrass Flat Road. The new build will be finished to their specification. Photo / Supplied
A four-bedroom waterfront home on Frankton Road, Queenstown, sold to Australian buyers for $4.2m. Photo / Supplied
“People vendors know that there are buyers who are willing to spend. It’s just a matter of them finding the right property. Everything is for sale at a price, so you get people who come along and say, ‘Hey, I don’t want to list my property, but if somebody comes along and matches the brief and is prepared to pay...’"
"Those conversations are happening, and you are the person who connects the dots," she said.
Glass said the Queenstown-Lakes market was a “moving landscape”, especially since the Government's announcement that it was loosening the foreign buyer rules for property worth over $5m.
“The problem is that we have only got so many lifestyle opportunities in the basin. Once people are in there, where do they go from there?” she said.
“We have had the phone ringing, and I have been out with Australian buyers today. They are back for sure, but there are also the people who own homes in the area who are moving within the basin. Queenstown is starting to get busy year-round.”
Glass and McBride also sold a four-bedroom lakefront home on Frankton Road, Queenstown, for $4.2m, just over its $4.18m CV. Glass said the buyer was an Australian who had been working with a buyer’s agent.
- Click here to find more properties for sale in Queenstown-Lakes
