Hollywood actor Jason Momoa has paid $15 million for a slice of Queenstown, OneRoof can reveal.
The Aquaman star, a familiar face in the resort town, officially took ownership of a 4.92ha lifestyle property in Dalefield last week.
The sale fetched $3.5m above its rating valuation and ranks as the second-biggest Queenstown-Lakes residential sale of the year.
The property is understood to have once been owned by the late actor Sir Sam Neill before transferring to his former wife.
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The Queenstown purchase is the second high-profile real estate deal Momoa has concluded this year.
The New Zealand Herald reported in April that Āriki Group, the company owned by Momoa, Taika Waititi and Cliff Curtis, has bought the West Auckland film studio Studio West.
Momoa, who has starred in several big productions shot in Auckland and Northland, said New Zealand felt like home to him creatively, culturally and spiritually.
“There’s a deep respect for story, for land, for community, and that’s something I am drawn to," he said.
Momoa shot to fame as Aquaman, one of the superheroes in the DC Universe. Photo / Supplied
Sir Sam Neill with his former wife Noriko Watana in 2006. It is believed that Momoa's new home once belonged to Sir Sam. Photo / Getty Images
“What excites me the most is the opportunity to build something lasting that supports local crews, nurtures talent, and creates pathways for the next generation of storytellers.
“I am proud to be part of that journey, and to help champion stories that deserve to be seen and heard around the world.”
Momoa has been a fixture of Queenstown-Lakes life in recent years. In April, he was photographed playing music at popular Queenstown Upstairs at The Bunker, of which he is a shareholder.
In posts shared across late April and early May, the venue promoted Momoa as one of its DJs.
The New Zealand Herald reported last year that the 47-year-old actor was house-hunting in Central Otago, raising speculation he may be planning a more permanent move to the region.
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He told the Herald that he first visited Queenstown in his early 20s and was immediately drawn to the area because it offered “everything I love to do”.
“I came here when I was about 20 years old, and when I landed there, Hawaii is home, but there’s never been anywhere in the world where I’ve ever felt more connected,” he said.
“I can’t really explain it. If it was my destiny, my ancestors ... don’t know what it was, but the moment I stepped off that plane I felt it, and I’ve always been drawn to it.”
Momoa's $15m purchase is the second biggest house sale in Queenstown-Lakes this year, behind the $16.5m sale of a trophy lodge on Mooney Road, in Speargrass Flat.
That deal was closed by Bayleys agents Sarena Glass and Sarah McBride. It is not known if there was an agent involved in Momoa's deal, or if Momoa purchased through the Active Investor Plus scheme.
New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty managing director Mark Harris said he was getting constant feedback from US real estate agents that they had ultra-high-net-worth clients interested in owning property in New Zealand.
Momoa with Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis at the premiere of Fast X in Auckland's Sylvia Park in 2023. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Momoa at Eden Park this year. He has said New Zealand feels like home to him creatively, culturally and spiritually. Photo / Getty Images
“Celebrities are in that category as well. There’s a wealth tax proposed for California, and that’s playing on people's minds, but I think it’s largely the privacy, the space and the raw beauty of New Zealand that attracts them,” he said.
“If you asked them, 'Where do you know in New Zealand?', they will certainly say, 'We’ve heard about Queenstown.' Sometimes the Bay of Islands comes up. It’s more so the lifestyle areas than the cities, that’s for sure.”
Harris said Queenstown-Lakes had much to offer overseas buyers. “We’ve got an airport where private jets can be landed. [Buyers] can access [their] property shortly after arriving here. And we're close to amenities and the things they like doing, which is quite often golfing, skiing or hiking and those sorts of activities.”
A luxury lodge on Mooney Road, in Speargrass Flat, Queenstown-Lakes, was snapped up this year for $16.5m - $5m over the RV. Photo / Supplied
Harris said the changes to the Active Investor Plus (AIP) visa earlier this year had made it easier for overseas purchasers to buy. “The Southern Lakes - Queenstown, Wanaka etc - have been popular with overseas people for a long time and obviously, the rule changes have reignited their ability to buy.”
Harris said this was positive because it gave sellers more options and created more competition at the top end of the market.
He said there had been several sales in the $10m-plus bracket this year in Queenstown-Lakes, but noted nothing had cracked $20m yet. “The market is going in the right direction, but it’s certainly not 2021.”
Oliver Road managing director Cam Winter said many high-profile people used buyer's agents or their own representatives for their purchases in Queenstown-Lakes.
Queenstown-Lakes is home to some of New Zealand's most expensive properties. Photo / Getty Images
“They like it because people don’t pay them too much attention. The hills around Queenstown are good at providing privacy and keeping secrets.”
OneRoof reported this month that Queenstown’s housing market was defying the slump being felt elsewhere in New Zealand, with the district's average property value up by more than $300,000, or 18%, in the last three years to almost $2.2m.
Big sales, like Momoa’s, grabbed the headlines, but OneRoof analysis found the biggest lifts in overall prices were driven by the middle of the market.
Walker & Co agent Hamish Walker said Queenstown was defying the downturn for multiple reasons.
The first was the limited amount of land available, with the surrounding mountains putting the brakes on development. “Secondly, it’s an attractive four-season destination town now where people from around the world want to come and live,” Walker said.
The third was an influx of Australian buyers who were active in both the townhouse market, where prices start at around $1m, and the $2m to $5m mid-market.
Changes to Australia’s tax rules for property investors, he said, resulted in a big lift in enquiries from across the ditch, from 12% to 30%.
“You’re seeing a lot of 35- to 55-year-old Aussies moving to Queenstown because they feel it’s just too hard to get ahead now in Australia with all the taxes. So, there is a bit of reverse migration happening. They’re coming to move here with their kids who are primary or high school age.”
Walker said first-home buyers were also out in force. “In Queenstown, the first-home buyer market is about 29% against a 10-year average of about 20%.”
Another factor in the strong Queenstown-Lakes property market is the growing population driven by migration. The Queenstown Lakes District Council is projecting higher population gains than previously expected. It now expects the district’s resident population to reach 110,983 by 2055, compared with 98,345 in its previous projection. Population growth creates continuing demand for somewhere to live.
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