Lake Wānaka property sells for record $16 million

It is believed the sale price was a record for Wānaka.

A Lake Wānaka property valued at less than $1 million at the turn of the millennium, according to a property valuation website, has just sold for $16m — a record price for a property in Wānaka.

In the intervening 23 years, the 20-hectare property at 468 Buchanan Rise on Roys Peninsula, west of Glendhu Bay, has had an architecturally designed five-bedroom, three-bathroom house built on it.

It is believed the sale price was a record for Wānaka.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) records show the property’s land value in September 2021 was $7,050,000, with improvements valued at $4,400,000. Homes.co.nz had recorded a value of below $1m in 2000 for the property.

The property was sold by Sotheby’s International agent Kylie Stewart, of Wānaka, who declined to provide details of the sale.

Stewart said there was international demand for architecturally designed houses with a view of Lake Wānaka, but there was a low number of such houses available for sale.

“We’re low on stock.”

Stewart said demand was not necessarily from just one country.

The National Party had promised to reverse Labour Government restrictions on overseas buyers, and that was already having an effect.

“We’ve got clients that had been looking prior to the changes, and they’re now coming back to us, hoping that there will be a change so that they can make a move,” Stewart said.

“It does have a positive impact on real estate.”

The Buchanan Rise house won architects Stevens Lawson the 2010 Home magazine House of the Year title and also a New Zealand Institute of Architects award.

Earlier this year, a 15ha-plus estate in Queenstown sold for a New Zealand record price of more than $40m.