Q'town Lakes sales drop as house prices continue to rise

Local house sale volumes dropped by 35% last month off the back of a 11.9% monthly increase in median prices, signalling a potential slow down in a white hot market.

Queenstown Lakes REINZ median house prices rose from $970,000 to $1,085,000 between October and November 2020, apparently triggering a drop in sales volumes from 179 in October 2020 to 116 in November.

REINZ's Regional Director Gail Hudson made the following observations about the local numbers.

“The Queenstown Lakes District saw median house prices increase 14.2% year-on-year to $1,085,000 in November 2020, up from $950,000 in November 2019."

"Many first home buyers are being priced out of the market and finding it difficult to compete with investors and out of town buyers, particularly as they are also finding it hard to secure finance from the banks. Property is selling quickly with days to sell at 35 days, down 16 days from the same time last year.”