Queenstown’s housing market is doing something most of the rest of New Zealand’s isn’t: going up.
Eight years ago, the price gap between buying a house in Auckland and Queenstown-Lakes was $135,000. Now, it's close to $1 million. In the last three years alone, the average property value in Queenstown-Lakes has risen by more than $300,000, or 18%, to over $2.2 million. By comparison, Christchurch, another vibrant South Island housing market, has seen its average property value rise by only 7%, while Auckland property values have slid 5.4%.
So why have Queenstown-Lakes house prices rocketed at a time when other markets are feeling the squeeze? The district, which is home to more than a few wealthy enclaves, has seen a run of big sales recently, including one in Speargrass Flat for $16.5 million and another in Lake Hayes for $13m.
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But headline-grabbing mansion sales alone haven't changed prices in Queenstown-Lakes. The biggest lift appears to be coming from the middle of the market, driven by ordinary households trying to secure an ordinary home in one of the country’s least ordinary property markets. These people need somewhere to live, even in flashy towns such as Queenstown and Wānaka.
The pattern isn't just limited to Queenstown itself, with similar strength showing in Wānaka, Cromwell and smaller settlements such as Lake Hayes and Arrowtown, say real estate agencies.
A luxury retreat on Mooney Road, in Speargrass Flat, Queenstown Lakes, fetched $16.5m in February this year. The listing agents were Bayleys duo Sarena Glass and Sarah McBride. Photo / Supplied
Also joining the $10m-plus club was a lodge on Slopehill Road, in Lake Hayes. New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty agents Dave Fea and Melanie Rogers got $13m for the property. Photo / Supplied
One of the biggest listing agents in the district is Bayleys Real Estate’s Sharon Donnelly. She listed 170 properties on OneRoof in the last 12 months, up marginally from the previous 12 months. However, the average search price of her listings was 26% higher, from $1.65m to just over $2m.
"I have just employed another full-time agent," she told OneRoof, noting that the market in her patch was "chaos".
Bayleys branch manager Loua Boshoff noted that sales in Wānaka and the surrounding suburbs had risen from 640 in 2023, to 706 in 2024 and 769 in 2025. "The bulk of the activity is in the middle of the market, around $1.4m–$2.5m," Boshoff said. Around 60% of sales were to locals, with international buyers accounting for around 7%.
Some of Donnelly's most recent listings include eight architecturally designed new-build homes in Wānaka. Dubbed The Tenby Collection, the planned townhouses range in price from $1.25m to $1.5m.
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Donnelly added that the top end of the market was also performing well in her patch. "The only reason we aren't selling more high-end properties is there are just not enough of them."
Cromwell, which is about halfway between Queenstown and Wānaka and significantly more affordable, was also feeling the heat.
Tall Poppy agent Keeley Anderson said she had seen a broad range of buyers in the last 12 months. "Everyone from first-time buyers to investors. We always get the families who are relocating," she said.
"The demand at the bottom end is phenomenal. It's very, very rare that we get any listings that are under $900,000, and when we do, we are in a very competitive multi-offer situation.
"Once the bottom starts moving, the middle can move. So, we've definitely seen that investor and first-homebuyer demand at the bottom has already now well and truly overflowed into the middle."
Anderson said buyers were increasingly viewing Cromwell as an attractive place to live, not just as a cheaper alternative to Queenstown. "There [are] some pretty spectacular wineries, and lots of outdoor activities. A lot is going for Cromwell. It's no longer just the cheaper alternative to Queenstown."
The Tenby Collection is a planned development of eight townhouses in Wānaka, with prices starting at $1.25m. Photo / Supplied
Lots in the planned Karamata Peak neighbourhood in Queenstown start at $1.59m. Photo / Supplied
She added: "Southland farmers are purchasing holiday homes again, which is great because they disappeared after the Covid years, and we're starting to see interest from Australians.
A recent report by Colliers on the Queenstown-Lakes housing market noted that strong tourism and population growth were driving demand and protecting the district from the wider economic headwinds affecting other markets.
It found that first-home buyers were the most active groups, typically paying up to $1.3m for standard homes and $1.5m for home-and-income properties. Many were shopping for homes in more affordable locations such as Kingston, Fernhill, and Cromwell. Arrowtown and Lake Hayes are the strongest-performing locations within the mid-market segment, while Jack's Point was the weakest, Colliers reported.
At the upper end of the market, residential property remained “resilient”, supported by strong discretionary spending from high-net-worth purchasers, it said. “Queenstown continues to be a preferred destination for international capital entering New Zealand, with the revised Active Investor Plus visa generating renewed investor interest since its 2025 reset,” Colliers reported.
The agency is currently selling plots in the planned Karamata Peak development in Queenstown Hill, with prices starting at $1.59m. Many of the sections have already been snapped up, with the agency reporting $51m in completed sales, with 45% of registered interest coming from Australia.
Walker & Co founder Hamish Walker says Queenstown is "an attractive four-season destination where people from around the world want to come and live". Photo / Supplied
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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