What's happening with Queenstown house prices?

The average price of a Queenstown property is $1,823,499 (CoreLogic, June 2024).

Queenstown house prices are up 0.40% over the last three months (REINZ). And they are 2.65% up over the last 12 months.

Queenstown house prices soared after the Covid-19 pandemic began. House prices started out 33% below the eventual peak of the market.

However, after that peak in November 2022, house prices fell 5.27% before bottoming out in December 2022.

Today, Queenstown house prices are down 2.85% compared to their peak. That means prices have risen 13.05% since the bottom of the market.

At the absolute bottom of its property cycle, Queenstown was 22.88% undervalued.

Today, property prices in Queenstown are overvalued 34.68%.

That suggests there is a selling opportunity in Queenstown.

I track the value of 16 suburbs in Queenstown. The most expensive suburb is Arrowtown, which has an average house value of $2,379,450. While the most affordable suburb is Sunshine Bay, which has an average house value of $1,102,700.

I track the value of just 1 suburb in Queenstown. It's called Sunshine Bay and you can see how the average property value is changing in the graph below.

I track the value of 16 suburbs in Queenstown. The most expensive suburb is Arrowtown, which has an average house value of $2,379,450. While the most affordable suburb is Sunshine Bay, which has an average house value of $1,102,700.

Over the last 24 months of all Queenstown suburbs (June 2022 - June 2024, Sunshine Bay had the fastest-growing house prices. They have gone up 16.21% over that period.

The suburb that grew the slowest over that period was Arthurs Point. Property values in this suburb grew by 1.19% over those 2 years.

Here's how rents are changing in Queenstown. Over the last four years (October 2020 - October 2024) the median rent has gone up $215 a week. That's 9.11% a year (on average).

Over the last 12 months, rents have gone up. They are up 5.04% ($35 a week) year on year.

One of the most common questions I get asked is: “Ed, are properties selling above or below their Capital Value (CV)?”

Some call it the RV (Rateable Value) or GV (Government Value).

Why do people care? Well, if you go on TradeMe (or another website), you’ll almost always see the council’s valuation for the property. So even if the seller hasn't advertised a price, you can get a feel for what the property might sell for.

This table shows whether the average property is selling above or below CV across Otago.

Where do house prices go up the fastest in Queenstown?

This map lets you find out for yourself.

Each area represents a different suburb, and the colour of the area represents how quickly house prices have increased over the past 20+ years.

The redder the area ... the quicker house prices have grown in that suburb.

Gross yields vary widely depending on which suburb you chose to investigate.

So, which suburbs in the Queenstown property market have the highest gross rental yields?

Navigate the map to find the suburbs where houses produce the most cash for their investors.

If you found this article useful, then you might also like our analyses on the other property markets in New Zealand. You can read all about the Otago property market here.

• Central Otago District property market
• Clutha District property market
• Dunedin City property market
• Waitaki District property market