A comparison of median house prices between August 2017 and 2018 indicates prices are up by a whopping 41 percent.

First National Wanaka agent Lynette Winsloe said the median price a year ago was $851,000. It’s now $1.2 million.

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand provides monthly figures about property sales in New Zealand.

This past August ended with 42 sales in total, which included 22 houses or dwellings and 20 sections.

“I had expected the sales to be higher because it certainly felt busier around town and there were a lot of multi offer situations on various properties,” Lynette said.

Hawea sections at Sentinel Park and Timsfield showed good activity with prices ranging from $195,000 to $247,500. “Both subdivisions are popular with demand exceeding supply,” Lynette said.

August’s priciest sale was a home on Lismore Street for $2.5 million; its cheapest was $427,000 for a Belvedere apartment.

“The resort at Cardrona formerly known as Benbrae seems to have had a catch up in prices, with two villas selling for $495k and $515k each,” Lynette said. “It was only a few years ago that these barely achieved $200k.”

Lynette said there had been renewed interest in the ‘small crib on a good sized section’ around town, “and one such sale in old Wanaka has everyone talking. A 77m2 house on an 1105m2 section that sold for $1,155,000.”

With housing affordability in Wanaka continuing to decrease, more and more people are looking to assisted purchases like those available through the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust: a not-for-profit social enterprise created to manage and deliver affordable housing solutions to those vital to the community who cannot afford it. But demand for housing through the trust has long exceeded supply so, apart from a lucky few, many are still locked out.

The Mayoral Housing Affordability Taskforce was also set up in April 2017 by Mayor Jim Boult to investigate new ways of addressing housing affordability in the district.

PHOTO: Supplied