Global billionaires, cashed-up Australians and the bulletproof region in NZ’s housing market

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

The Queenstown area is home to some of NZ's most expensive properties.

Wealthy Australians are driving a sharp rise in inquiries about high-end property in Queenstown.

Their interest follows plans to change the capital gains tax across the Tasman.

The wider Central Otago-Lakes District recorded a record average asking price of $1.67 million in May, driven by strong demand and limited supply.

More widely, property experts say interest is also growing from global high-net-worth buyers - but housing affordability pressures continue to worsen for many locals.

One of four multimillion-dollar homes sold in Queenstown in a single week by Hamish Walker.

There’s been a huge spike in the number of wealthy Australians eyeing property in a part of New Zealand many Kiwis are already priced out of.

Property experts report a surge in interest in homes in and around Queenstown since the government across the Tasman proposed changes to its capital gains tax in May.

Hamish Walker, director of Queenstown-based real estate agency Walker&Co, says he’s seen a 30% increase in inquiries over the past month from Australian buyers with budgets north of $3 million.

And NZ Sotheby's International Realty managing director Mark Harris told Stuff that, year-on-year, Australian inquiries are up 90%, and lifted sharply after the tax announcement.

Walker said the proposed changes, which would see higher rates for investors and people with second homes, “have really hurt” the people he’s hearing from - and increased the motivation of Australian buyers.

“I’m dealing with many younger couples in their 30s and 40s with young families, looking to move here for lifestyle reasons to escape the hustle and bustle of main centres in Australia.

Average asking prices in the Wānaka district have reached $1.71m.

“I’m also dealing with Australian buyers looking to buy holiday homes.”

Walker said he recently sold four multimillion-dollar houses in a week, two to Aussie buyers.

Email the reporter: annemarie.quill@stuffdigital.co.nz

Trade Me Property’s Casey Wylde says prices in the Queenstown-Lakes District Council area sit at double the national average.

Stuff uncovered the trend while investigating why the region’s property market remains bulletproof, at the same time those in much of the rest of New Zealand are sluggish or slumping.

The Central Otago-Lakes District saw a record high average asking price of $1.67 million in May - a 20% annual increase surpassing the previous peak of $1.66m from December 2023, according to realestate.co.nz .

That was driven primarily by the Queenstown and Wānaka districts, where average asking prices reached $2.03m and $1.71m respectively.

Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams attributed this immunity to basic economics: high demand and low supply.

“The region continues to stand out as one of New Zealand’s most resilient property markets, underpinned by strong lifestyle appeal, limited housing supply and consistent demand from both local and international buyers.”

In May 2016, property in the Central Otago-Lakes District could be bought for an average of $836,782, some $45,000 less than in Auckland. A decade on, there’s no huge difference in our biggest city, but prices in the south have doubled.

Trade Me Property spokesperson Casey Wylde told Stuff that prices in the smaller Queenstown-Lakes District Council area sit at double the national average, with total search interest spiking 43% over the last six months.

The tension between supply and demand was underlined by Kelvin Davidson, chief property economist at CoreLogic. He said the district’s housing stock fell 13.3% year-on-year, defying a national average rise of 5%.

Walker described the region’s market as a “completely different beast”.

“The property market has consistently grown 3 to 4% per year over the last five years, while other parts of the country have declined.”

The flipside

With conflict in the Middle East (and beyond), Queenstown-based real estate agent Hamish Walker said the area was viewed as a remote safe haven by global billionaires.

All that’s fuelling major concerns about housing affordability in the region.

There are reports that soaring house prices, empty holiday homes and a shortage of affordable rentals have left many Queenstown locals struggling to find a bed for the night.

Analysis by economic consultancy Infometrics found that, in the Queenstown-Lakes District Council area, the mean average house value is 11.4 times its mean average household income. That compared to 5.9 times nationally.

And Williams said the average rental price for the wider region reached a record high of $903 per week in March.

Billionaire ‘bolthole’

It’s not just Australians stoking the market.

Viktoria De Dominicis says an active lifestyle is the appeal of the region.

Sotheby’s Harris said he’d recorded year-on-year spikes in website inquiries from China, India, UAE and the USA (led by interest from Oregon, New York, Texas, Illinois, and California).

Walker said the area was viewed as a remote safe haven by global billionaires.

“Just last month I was dealing with one of the world’s wealthiest families who are looking to purchase in Queenstown to use as a bolthole. When I asked why they are doing this, they put it down to the volatility of the current climate globally,” Walker told Stuff.

He declined to reveal their identity or nationality.

Williams, from realestate.co.nz, expects the trend to continue.

“As one of the few areas in New Zealand with a significant concentration of high-end homes, the Central Otago-Lakes district is well positioned to benefit from demand from high-net-worth buyers, which will only be strengthened under the new Active Investor Plus visa settings,” she said.

Harris added: “In addition to overseas buyers we are seeing an ongoing exodus from cities in New Zealand to lifestyle destinations like Queenstown, in particular Auckland and Wellington. These buyers, combined with limited supply, push the prices up.”

‘Lucky to call it home’

Viktoria De Dominicis is among those from North America to make Queenstown her home, although not in that super-rich bracket.

She arrived in New Zealand from Canada on a working holiday visa and planned to split her time between Wellington and Queenstown. But when her employer offered to sponsor her visa application, she chose fulltime life in Otago.

“I didn't even consider living anywhere else,” she said. “The idyllic small town mountain life was all I could think of, regardless of higher living costs.”

Now a resident of more than four years with young children, she lives among others who’ve relocated from elsewhere in New Zealand or overseas.

“It's an outdoor enthusiast's dream,” she said, adding the community is heavily driven by activities like trail running, biking and skiing.

Despite housing affordability being a distinct downside to the region, she maintains the trade-off is worth it.

“To live in what I believe is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, it's worth it. Visitors from around the world seek this place out, and we're lucky enough to call it home.”