First National’s Lynette Winsloe has analysed property sales throughout June to compare the least and most affordable, and how the figures compared to 2017.

"June turned out to be a slightly quieter than usual month, with a total of 38 properties sold, including rural and residential sales,” Lynette said.

‘Affordable’ is taking on new meaning as residential section prices continue to rise.

"Sections started at $208,696 for a 285m2 site in Northlake, with the next affordable section being $250,000 for 908m2 in Sentinel Park at Lake Hawea,” Lynette said. "Did I really mention affordable and $250,000 in the same sentence? Surely not!”

Looking at the house and apartment sales, The Resort at Cardrona (formerly Benbrae) saw two 31m2 apartments sell at $160,000 and $179,000 respectively.

In Wanaka, an apartment at Belvedere sold for $470,000.

"For the first home buyer, this 60m2 apartment, with its own secure carpark and close proximity to town, is an ideal start for a local who wants to live here long term,” Lynette said.

"We didn’t see any of the big sale prices that we have seen over recent months, with the highest price paid for a house in June being $1.3m.”

The sale numbers compared to a last year show a small drop.

"For the months of January through to June 2018, we had a total of 274 sales (this includes rural and residential), while for the same period last year, there was 290 sales,” Lynette said. "Approximately five percent less sales by volume, for the year so far.”

The dollar value of sales over the same period is relatively similar, with total sales value of $226m for Jan-Jun 18 compared to $235m for Jan-Jun 17. This is a reduction of only four percent.

"I feel as though I keep harping on about the lack of stock here in Wanaka,” Lynette said. "The amount of new listings coming to the market is minimal. Established houses in established areas are few and far between.”

"One would be forgiven for thinking that because it is winter, that not much happens at this time of the year, but with all of the extra people in town, there is still plenty of interest in real estate and we have good, well qualified buyers ready to pounce on the right property.”

PHOTO: Wanaka App