Queenstown lakefront section sells for $6.8m, smashing rateable value

A bare section in Queenstown’s Lake Hayes Estate has been sold for nearly $7 million at auction, placing it among the most expensive undeveloped residential sites ever sold in the region.

The 2673 sq m lakefront section attracted significant attention before the auction.

Colliers real estate agent Brendan Quill said the site’s scarcity and outlook drove heavy interest.

“It was on what I call a finite resource - Lake Hayes proper,” Quill told the Herald.

“Glorious views out towards Coronet Peak and the surrounding mountains, obviously the waterway, but it had a 54m frontage to the lake itself.”

The 2673sq m site sold for nearly $7m. Photo / Supplied

The auction opened at $4m and quickly climbed.

“It opened about four and then it cranked up from there, up to about just over $6.8 [million],” Quill said.

“It slowed down toward the end, a lot of different tactics and things, it was all good.”

The property sold for $6.815m, nearly $2m above its $5m rateable value.

Forty-five bids were placed during the auction, and two rival bidders traded offers in a final showdown.

The buyer is a New Zealander with strong ties to the area, he said.

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“Obviously they’ve got a strong affinity with the area because they love it that much, you know.”

While the buyer’s identity remains undisclosed, Quill said the land had been held by the same family for almost 80 years.

“They weren’t going to fulfil any building dreams themselves, so that was it.”

Asked about the family’s reaction to the sale, Quill said they were modest, “low-key folk” choosing to keep a low profile.

Ben Tomsett is a Multimedia Journalist for the New Zealand Herald, based in Dunedin.