Central Property co-owner Jody Hayward, of Wanaka, told the Otago Daily Times yesterday there was no evidence Wanaka's commercial retail rents were likely to fall.
The situation was different in Wanaka, where there were fewer commercial properties and retail floor space coming on to the market.
"We understand there are lots of new properties and buildings being built in Queenstown," Ms Hayward said.
"That is not the situation in Wanaka at all."
Real Institute of New Zealand Queenstown spokesman Adrian Snow said commercial CBD retail rents in Queenstown had dropped in the past 18 months.
Previous commercial rents of between $1000 and $1500 a square metre had fallen, on average, to between $800 and $1300, he said.
The combined effects of the economic downturn, businesses closing, and a drop in demand for retail space had contributed to the fall in Queenstown's rental rates, he said.
Collier Queenstown property valuer Geoff McElrea said average retail space rents charged in Wanaka's CBD were about $350 a square metre.
Wanaka Chamber of Commerce and some retail tenants on Helwick St - the resort's main downtown area - have expressed concerns recently about high commercial rates and the impact they were having on businesses in combination with the recession.
The "contentious" issue of retail rates in Wanaka's CBD has been highlighted by Wanaka Chamber of Commerce president Leigh Stock and Helwick St retailer Steve Worley, who operates Yes Photo and Digital.
Mr Worley is upset at a rates increase of 26%, locked in last year by his Invercargill-based landlord, after what he claims was a "totally unreasonable, Queenstown rates-based" valuation by Central Property.
Mr Stock is concerned some Wanaka businesses will be forced out of the CBD by a combination of high rents and tough times.
Mr Worley's landlord is Helwick Holdings Ltd (HHL), a company part-owned by Invercargill-based directors Sharron and Philip Ryan, of Otatara.
HHL owns, or part owns, several commercial buildings on Helwick St, which include Ritual cafe, Locations real estate agency, and Base ski shop.
The Ryans are also directors of companies Ardmore Properties Ltd and Noosa Holdings Ltd, which owns other commercial buildings in downtown Wanaka.
Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor John Wilson, who sits on the Wanaka Town Centre working party - a body charged with preserving the character of Wanaka's downtown retail area - said high rents could be the catalyst for businesses moving out of the CBD.
Landlords needed to be mindful and realistic about their expectations, he said.
Peter O'Connell, a Timaru-based landlord with a second home in Wanaka, who owns industrial, retail, and commercial properties in Wellington, Auckland, and Christchurch, contacted the Otago Daily Times, yesterday, after reading about the rent rises.
The businessman said it would be "very short-sighted" of landlords to keep imposing rent increases now an economic downturn.
If tenants were forced out of properties, then the landlord stood to lose money.
Rental rate rises in line with New Zealand's current Consumer Price Index rate of 4%, would be more comparable with the rest of the country.
Claims that Wanaka and Queenstown were insulated from the rest of the country's economic woes were losing credence, Mr O'Connell said.
