- More than $80m worth of property is for sale in Millbrook Resort, with entry-level prices near $4m.
- Millbrook Realty director Ben O’Malley reported $68m in sales over the past year, the resort’s best ever.
- Most buyers are from Auckland, with the recent loosening of foreign buyer rules expected to increase international interest.
More than $80 million worth of Queenstown property is up for grabs in an exclusive suburb where entry level is close to $4m.
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Millbrook agents Teresa Chapman and Lily Dykes have 11 properties in the multimillion-dollar Millbrook Resort for sale on OneRoof.
The listings range from a piece of dirt with clear views of snow-capped peaks seeking enquiries over $3m to an architectural wonder with an RV of close to $20m.
Millbrook has been in operation for over 30 years and is now a five-star golf and lifestyle retreat.
2 Millvista Lane was designed by Haden Emslie Architecture. Photo / Supplied
Entry-level Millbrook: 15 Fox’s Rush is a two-bedroom townhouse. Photo / Supplied
Arrowtown is next door, and the new restaurant and bar development at Ayrburn is close at hand.
Millbrook has strict covenants, which give the place its own special character. It’s also why many of the homes there have the same steep-pitched roofs and have been built with the same cladding and materials.
The rules also mean clotheslines are hidden and heat pumps are unobtrusive.
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Millbrook Realty director Ben O’Malley told OneRoof that his agents had sold $68m worth of real estate in the last 12 months – the resort’s best full year of sales ever.
“In the last few months, we’ve had some big sales: $9.75m, $8.1m, $5.6m. We’ve also had two section sales in the $3m-plus range,” he said.
“Some people have made spectacular gains.”
Although the record sale price for Millbrook is $9.75m, there are multiple homes worth more than that, including 2 Millvista Lane.
The Ayrburn dining precinct is close at hand for Millbrook Resort residents. Photo / Supplied
Millbrook’s golf course is a big drawcard for buyers. Photo / Mike Langford
The house was designed by Haden Emslie Architecture and is a mix of schist stone pavilions, slate, steel and aged larch – with entry doors from Rajasthan, a state in India famous for historic forts and palaces.
It comes with a pool and a separate New York-style loft apartment for guests and boasts amazing mountain and lake views.
O’Malley said there were others in the resort that were worth more but hadn’t come to market.
One of Millbrook’s finest, Tommas House, recently featured on Phil Spencer’s New Zealand’s Best Houses. “This home was built for fun. A one-of-a-kind house in a one-of-a-kind location,” Spencer said on the show.
3 Barley Court is typical of many Millbrook lodges. The four-bedroom house, which is for sale by negotiation, adheres to the resort’s "look". Photo / Supplied
Taking Spencer around the house, architect Francis Whittaker, of Mason & Wales, tells him it was built in the style of a Scottish croft and is centred around “a very long banquet hall”.
O’Malley said the number of properties on the market in the resort wasn’t unusually high. Nor were the homes taking longer to sell. “If the market’s hot, sales can be in days,” O’Malley said. “Higher values mean fewer buyers, but we watch our buyer database closely. If it’s something they want, it can go quickly.”
Most of those buying are Kiwis. “Auckland’s our biggest market,” O’Malley said, although the resort does have owners from Australia, Tahiti, the UK, and the United States.
O’Malley noted that some of its sales were to long-time residents. “Quite a few trade up,” he said. “They start with a smaller property and buy a second or third. Once people get to know and love Millbrook, they stay and upgrade.”
Millbrook does spec builds and has two for sale right now. Pictured above is 3A Ploughmans Lane. Photo / Supplied
3B Ploughmans Lane, like its neighbour, has an RV of over $8m. Photo / Supplied
The recent loosening of New Zealand’s foreign buyer rules will open up Millbrook to more overseas buyers with $5m or more to spend, but the resort has yet to see any significant lift in international enquiries.
“People are probably waiting for final details. Possibly a bit of Kiwi buyer urgency, trying to beat the perceived influx of overseas buyers. But that’s just a feeling, not evidence.”
Land has been released over the years, and there are sufficient sections left to last 10 years. “We’re zoned for up to 450 houses. We’re at about 340 now. Still working through master planning of the final stages.”
O’Malley said that the resort sometimes did spec builds for people who wanted something ready-built and of high quality. 3A Ploughmans Lane and 3B Ploughmans Lane are just that.
The two homes, which have RVs of over $8m, are of similar design and size, although 3A sits on 1060sqm and 3B on 1336sqm. Like many homes in Millbrook, they were designed by Mason & Wales and have Ingrid Geldof kitchens.
“We also sell land-only sites where people build to Millbrook design controls. These are often substantial homes,” O’Malley said. “We have a very controlled environment in terms of design controls, which sets the standards high. They take cues from early Central Otago forms.
“That helps protect amenity values and gives certainty about what’s around you.”
Golf, as well as exclusivity, are the big drawcards for the well-heeled buyers. “We added an extra golf course in the last 20 years,” said O’Malley. “We started with 18 holes, now we’re a 36-hole format. Houses wrap around the golf course, wetlands, and escarpments. It’s a diverse landform, rolling hills, sculptural valleys.”
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