Big Central Otago development block

Land for sale at Lake Hawea is on aptly named Lakeview Terrace. Photo / Supplied

An 8.5ha block of bare land is for sale in the Central Otago township of Lake Hawea about 17 kilometres north of Wanaka.

The largely rectangular block at 195 Lakeview Terrace is being marketed for sale through Todd Soper of Bayleys Wanaka with tenders closing at 4pm on Friday June 14.

"The Lake Hawea land could well see the settlement become a satellite township for Wanaka," Soper says. "Surrounded by residential properties, this is one of the biggest single wholesale residential development blocks to have been placed on the market in the past decade.

"An indicative residential subdivision plan for the site identified the potential for the creation of between 73 to 80 sections from this existing single property."

"The site has access off Lakeview Terrace via a 20m wide road which is a sufficient width to accommodate a local road capable of handling up to 200 individual sections.

"The property has good visibility in both directions along Lakeview Terrace to allow for safe entry and exit into what could be the new enclave."

Soper says the gently sloping tussock and grassed block has been owned by a Dunedin based family for the past 25 years and is classified Township Zone under the Queenstown District Lakes Council plan.

"Queenstown Lakes District Council has indicated its intention to review the Township Zone guidelines later this year, with the potential that the current minimum section size of 800sq m could drop to minimum section sizes of 450sq m," Soper says.

"Based on a higher density design, it is feasible that up to 120 lots ranging in size from 500 to 600sq m could be yielded from the site."

Soper says Wanaka housing developments like Northlake, The Heights, Kirimoko and Hikuwai are bringing sections onto the market for between $350,000 and $550,000.

"A new large scale subdivision in Lake Hawea would offer an attractive price point for those looking at entry level property in the district on which to build."

He says 42 sections ranging in size from 800 to 1300sq m in the nearby Timsfield development at Lake Hawea, which were released to the market earlier this year, have been selling for between $249,000 and $300,000; and only six remain unsold.

"The speed at which Timsfield sold down shows there is demand for greenfield sites in the town as people find they are priced out of the Wanaka market," Soper says.

"The drive from Lake Hawea to Wanaka is only about 18 minutes, less than a suburban commute in the likes of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and on the congested roads of Queenstown."

The Government's 2013 census figures report that Lake Hawea has a population of 2175 residents, compared with 6471 people recorded as living in Wanaka. The census also noted that Lake Hawea township was made up of 906 owner/occupied dwellings, and an additional 363 'crib' holiday homes.

The latest information from Statistics New Zealand from its 2018 estimate lists Lake Hawea as having a population of 2760 and Wanaka 8900.