Despite record prices, first-home buyers hit 18-year high
The resort town’s property market has emerged as New Zealand’s strongest performer, with homeowners enjoying the highest resale profits in the country despite widespread losses elsewhere, new data reveals.
Queenstown-Lakes recorded a median resale gain of $480,000 in 2025, according to research by OneRoof and Valocity. The district also posted the nation’s lowest share of resale losses at just 3%, alongside Southland.
The figures come as first-home buyers in Queenstown reached an 18-year high, comprising 19% of all property purchases in 2025, despite the district hitting a record asking price of $1.6m—nearly 20% higher than the previous year.
Christian Belmont, a project manager who has been searching for a home since 2020, said the process had been challenging.
“I think I have like 60 to 80% of all the real estate agents’ phone numbers on my phone, because I’ve been to dozens and dozens and dozens of open homes,” Belmont told RNZ.
He and his fiancée have watched prices climb by approximately $600,000 during their search. The couple has settled on saving a 10% deposit, saying 20% was “simply out of reach.”
The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust has attempted to address affordability issues through its Arrowtown development, which includes assisted ownership homes where buyers purchase the house while the trust retains the land. Chief executive Julie Scott said more than 1,600 households were on the waitlist.
“We’ve had overwhelming demand for these homes,” Scott said.
Sustained demand underpins Queenstown’s resilience
Hamish Walker of Walker & Co real estate said Queenstown’s performance reflected sustained demand and limited land supply.
“You see sort of a flight to quality as the market’s been tougher in New Zealand in the last five years, and the demand just keeps on going for Queenstown,” Walker told OneRoof. He sold $100m worth of property in the district this year alone.
The success contrasts sharply with Auckland and Wellington, where nearly 20% of homes resold at a loss in 2025, with median losses exceeding $70,000.
Wayne Shum, senior research analyst for Valocity, told OneRoof Queenstown’s wealth and geographic constraints contributed to its resilience. He said Queenstown had a cap on land supply because it was surrounded by mountains.
According to RNZ, data from the previous census showed just over a quarter of Queenstown’s houses sat empty at any given time, including holiday homes and short-term rentals. Airbnb listings comprised approximately 15% of the district’s housing stock.
Bayleys Queenstown sales manager Dee McQuillan said buying under $1m remained “absolutely” possible, though buyers were increasingly looking at developments or areas like Kingston.
