Agent: Sydney snow bunnies lured by Lakeview's luxury boltholes

Sydneysider ski bunnies have snapped up most of the Lakeview apartments on sale, with one real estate reporter across the ditch calling the controversial multimillion dollar development a "designer bolthole".

New Zealand Sotheby's International Realty agents selling the Queenstown apartments that so far have cost local ratepayers significantly have been in Sydney this week.

Evidently, they've been doing their jobs well.

According to Australian property journalist Stephen Nicholls, 70 percent of the buyers so far are from the New South Wales capital.

He tells his audience, "Snow bunnies, hikers and investors alike can pick up a designer bolthole for as low as $750,000, which equates to $685,700 in Australian dollars".

According to Mr Nicholls, who had the chance to interview Sotheby's New Zealand managing director Mark Harris, sales to date total close to $100 million, with the top two floors already gone, for a record-breaking $33-million-plus.

The first stage of Lakeview on the market is known as 'Roto', and includes 94 apartments ranging in price from $750,000 to $22.5 million.

Mr Nicholl's report also quotes another Sotheby's agent, Myles Green, who says, the apartments are "perfect for the ‘lock up and leave’ or ‘visitor accommodation investment’ opportunities that are popular with Australians".

Construction of the first stage, which received consenting approval via the government's Covid-19, fast-tracking process, is flagged to begin later this year.

The development is located on 10 hectares of centrally located land owned by the Queenstown Lakes District Council, which has a development agreement with Centuria Capital and 94 Feet that will see deferred settlement on the land parcels as each stage of the project is complete.

Under the agreement, the council has opted to take on the full cost and risk of readying the site for the build, while the exact details of how much the ratepayer stands to gain from the deal remain undisclosed.

Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers has previously told Crux he is comfortable with the tone of Lakeview marketing material, saying it fits the brief the council expects the developer to deliver on.

Prospective buyers are being advised of sky-high, short-term accommodation valuations that go up to $2,200 for a single night.

According to marketing material, Lakeview's 30-metre-square studio apartments could command $450 to $550 a night, its 77-metre-square, one-bedroom apartments up to $850 a night, its 80-square-metre, two-bedroom apartments up to $1,350 per night, and its 127-square-metre, three-bedroom apartments up to $2,200 a night.

Main image (Supplied): An artist's impression of Lakeview's premium apartments, to be located at the base of Ben Lomond.