It is not just the prices. It is not even the demand. It is the changing of the guard.
One home I sold had been in the same Southland family for almost 60 years. Two sales I made this month had been owned for 35 years and 27 years respectively. I currently have a waterfront section on the market that has been in the same ownership since the 1980s.
These were not investment properties bought to make a quick dollar. They were family homes and holiday homes. Places where children learnt to swim, grandparents watched another generation grow up and lifelong traditions were created.
If you speak to almost anyone who grew up holidaying in Kelvin Heights, chances are they will have memories of spending long days at Kelvin Beach by the golf club, fishing off the boat if they were lucky enough to have one, being towed behind the boat on a jetski (hopefully they didn’t need to get rescued like I had to on the jetski last month).
Those experiences created a connection with the place that lasted a lifetime.
Many of the original homes were built in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, when Kelvin Heights was still very much a hidden gem.
Back then it was Southland families who recognised what a special place it was. They bought generously sized sections, built modest holiday homes and held on to them for decades.
Looking back, those purchases now seem incredibly foresighted. Today Kelvin Heights is one of the most sought-after suburbs not only in Queenstown but in New Zealand.
It is easy to understand why. It enjoys some of the best sunshine in the basin, offers large sections that are becoming increasingly rare, stunning lake and mountain views, easy access to the water and one of the most spectacular golf courses anywhere in the country.
As Queenstown has consistently grown by around 8% in population for several years, those qualities have only become more valuable as the place gets more spread out and busier.
What I find most interesting, though, is not who is selling. It is who is buying.
The buyers are coming from somewhere different. Looking back at my last 10 sales in Kelvin Heights, six were purchased by Australians or Auckland buyers. Only one was bought by a Southland family.
These are people who first came to Queenstown on holiday, fell in love with the lifestyle and decided they wanted to own a piece of it. In many ways they are following exactly the same path Southland families did 30, 40 or 50 years ago.
The demand is certainly there. One property I sold last week (a property built in 1975) was on the market for just five days. We had 35 groups through the home and presented seven offers to the owners. Only one of those offers came from a Southland buyer.
The week prior, another Kelvin Heights property I sold was on the market for less than a month and received three offers. Not a single offer came from a Southland family.
It shows just how highly sought after the suburb has become. Markets always evolve and suburbs naturally change over time. What we are seeing now in Kelvin Heights feels like a genuine generational shift.
Families who created decades of memories are passing the baton to a new generation who see exactly the same qualities that attracted the original owners all those years ago.
Some things, though, have not changed. On a calm summer day, the memories created on the lake, at the beach or out on the golf course, or up the skifield in winter, are every bit as special as they were 30, 40 or 50 years ago.
These are the memories discussed at funerals, which show these are a large part of the special moments for people when looking back on their lives. The time spent on Kelvin Heights becomes part of a family’s story.
That is probably why I tell vendors not to sell if they don’t need to when they first get in contact. Demand will always be there for a special place like Kelvin Heights.
In my next article, I will discuss a family who have a special connection to Kelvin Heights going back a few years.
