Almost $100M worth of property was sold in the Upper Clutha last month. 

Information from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) shows there were 118 sales during September, with a combined sales value of $93,121,666. 

Upper Clutha’s total sales were worth roughly $37M in August and in July properties went for a total of just over $56M.

As well as sales numbers, prices also increased. REINZ regional director Gail Hudson said Wānaka prices reached a record median of $1.3M, up 39.8 per cent year-on-year. 

“Properties are selling faster, the median days to sell decreased by 22 - from 59 days in September 2020 to 37 days this month,” Gail said.

She acknowledged this was leaving first home buyers unable to enter the market: “Finance is taking longer to secure, along with the rise of house prices making homes unaffordable for some.”

On the flip side, Proppy.co.nz co-founder Hannah Walker said the prices were making vendors happy. 

She gave an example of six bidders who fought for a Mount Iron Drive property: The final purchase price was $1,616,500, and the sellers were “very happy,” she said.

The bulk of the Upper Clutha September sales were land sales, with 82 sections selling across the month.

The lowest priced section was in Northlake ($239,782) and the most expensive was a 4,592m2 section in West Meadows Drive ($3.2M).

Thirty-four houses or apartments sold in Wānaka in September, with a two-bedroom townhouse in Anderson Road at $649,000 being the least expensive sale, and a $.2.8M three-bedroom house on Faulks Terrace the most expensive.

Lifestyle properties, which tend to be at the upper end of sales prices, topped out at $3.5M for a 307,000m2 piece of land on Riverbank Road.

The Queenstown Lakes District also hit a new record average price of more than $1.5M last month, according to the QV House Price Index. 

See also: ‘Queenstown Lakes’ average house price tops $1.5M’

PHOTO: Wānaka App