More affordable housing was urgently needed in the district, which had the most expensive median property price in the country, far beyond average means, and a notoriously high population turnover.
Trustee Stephen Brent said yesterday while housing affordability received national attention, the severity of the problem was clear in Queenstown, where median house prices were $540,000, according to the latest February statistics.
Median household income was $72,474.
House prices should be no greater than three times median incomes, international housing affordability monitor Demographia reported.
The average house price in Queenstown was 7.5 times the median household income.
This figure compared sharply with all other centres, including Dunedin, with its the median house price of $260,000 four times the median household income, and Invercargill's median house price of just over $200,000, 2.9 times the median income.
Mr Brent said the problem was stark in Queenstown where median incomes were typically lower than in other parts of the country because of a high ratio of lower-paid hospitality workers.
High housing costs posed an economic and social challenge, he said.
''Housing is the single largest cost item for our struggling young households.
''As we improve affordability, it frees up disposable income which can be spent elsewhere ...
''We also know that when families have good stable housing they are more settled in the community and less likely to ... leave town.''
The trust's independent survey last year found 86% of respondents said housing costs were a barrier to settling long-term in Queenstown.
Other conclusions from the report included 40% of all respondents were in current housing stress, 95% aspired to home ownership, 80% said the quality of housing did not compare favourably with other places, 68% earned less than $50,000 and 80% were citizens or had permanent residency, so were not transient.
Adding to the pressure on housing were projections of more than 50% population growth over the next 15 years.
Queenstown mortgage-seekers were often asked to consider buying homes in the more affordable towns of Cromwell and Kingston, then driving the 50-minute-each-way journey into the resort for work.
Executive officer Julie Scott said the trust was being approached by a growing number of eligible families seeking housing assistance.
The trust operated a Shared Ownership programme, a Rent Saver programme and starter loans to relieve affordability problems for low-median income households. The trust had helped nearly 70 households in the Lakes district to date.
The final 10 properties in a trust development of 22 houses at Nerin Square, Lake Hayes Estate, near Queenstown, were due for completion in mid-2013, but were already sold.
