Real estate sales take off in Maniototo

Southern Wide Real Estate saleswoman Sarah Smith reflects on the upturn in the real estate sector in the Maniototo. Photo / Pam Jones.

The Maniototo is the latest area to be hit by the real estate boom, as figures show sales for the extended summer period were twice that of the same period last year.

The upturn had happened in the past six to eight months, Southern Wide Real Estate saleswoman Sarah Smith said.

''I used to sell one property and get five new listings and now I sell five properties and get one new listing.''

Mrs Smith keeps figures for Maniototo properties sold by all the firms operating in the area and she said there had been a huge increase from last year.

From January 1, 2016, to November 1, 2016, 22 properties had been sold, but from November 2, 2016, to now 40 had been sold, Mrs Smith said.

For the corresponding period the year before, November 2, 2015, to early May 2016, only 15 had been sold, she said.

She said normally sales in the Maniototo slowed down in the winter but that did not look like it would happen this year. This month, some houses were selling within days of being listed.

The increase in activity was a natural flow-on from the upturn that had spread from Queenstown and Wanaka to Cromwell, Alexandra and Omakau, but Maniototo properties were still ''a fraction'' of the prices of other areas, Mrs Smith said. She had three-bedroom family homes for sale in Ranfurly ranging from $155,000 to $320,000.

Most people who were buying properties in Ranfurly were retiring from outside of the district, and most properties sold outside of Ranfurly were for holiday homes, Mrs Smith said.

She said the retirees were ''really adding something'' to the Maniototo community, boosting the economy, volunteering and joining community groups.

Those retiring to the area also said the quality of the health services in the Maniototo was an attraction, Mrs Smith said.

''We've got a hospital here, and St John, and district nursing, it's safe, and flat here, they can get meals on wheels . . . they can get everything, really.''

pam.jones@odt.co.nz