A decision by Queenstown Airport Corporation to allow flights to land at the airport up until 10pm all year round has already had benefits for the district's property market, according to developer Dean Franklin.
Franklin has developed Peregrine Ridge, a 52 lot subdivision at Jack's Point at the base of The Remarkables mountain range and since the sections went on the market two months ago, 34 have been sold.
Thirty of those sales were to Aucklanders intending to build holidays homes on them and Franklin said he was initially surprised at how many Aucklanders were buying them.
A major factor in their decision to build holiday homes in Queenstown was the decision by the airport company back in May to extend night flying into Queenstown over the winter months, he said.
At present, planes can only fly into Queenstown during daylight hours or up to 10pm during summer.
But once new equipment is installed, flights will be able to land at night and the airport hours in the winter will also be extended to 10pm.
For Aucklanders that means they can fly down to Queenstown on Friday night rather than having to wait until Saturday morning, giving them more time on the ski slopes in winter.
It will allow people from Auckland to go to their holiday homes Queenstown for the weekend, making the area a serious alternative to traditional northern holiday spots such as Coromandel, Omaha and Taupo, Franklin said.
He believed Queenstown section prices also offered good value compared to their northern rivals.
Some of the Peregrine Ridge sites have been selling for less than $3000 a square metre and those still available for sale are priced from $190,000 to $260,000, he said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our new free Property email newsletter brings you all the stories about residential and commercial property and the forces that move these huge markets. Sign up here.
To subscribe to our Property newsletter, enter your email address here. It's free.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Comments
Thats a nice plug for Peregrine Ridge Greg. But there is another side to the story. That particular area at Jacks Point has been a real estate deathtrap for a number of years now. Many people have bought there, and many have crept away with crippling losses.
That said, the new inland city of the south is thriving. Aucklanders are only part of the scheme, and from this story seem tobe buying at the cheap end. Australia is just as close, and masses of Ozzies are coming into the Wakatipu in the same way, many with real money.
Aussies created the only property boom in Japan seen since the 80s in the ski meccas of Niseko and, to a lesser degree, Hakuba.
http://www.powderlife.com/blog/nisekos-booming-property-market-is-it-a-…
And it's the same old hoopla about the Asian nouveau riche, which keepts the dream bubbling along.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304073204579167690548273…
The reality is that keeping a holiday home in winter regions is a wondeful achievement, yet it is only the domain for a select few.
We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment.
Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don't welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current comment policy is here.