First National Group general manager John Stewart told the Queenstown Times yesterday he had been "snooping" around the resort, as recently as last week, but the group had stayed out of Queenstown up until now because the area had been over-saturated with real estate companies.
"It's overrun with a large number of offices and salespeople and we have always taken the sustainable pathway.
"We only go where we know we're working with the right people," Mr Stewart said.
However, market growth in the last six weeks was one of the reasons why the transtasman property company was planning offices in Dunedin and Queenstown.
They were likely to open between April and June, he said.
Asked to comment on the company's recent announcement of a nationwide 50% increase in the number of residential rental properties available over the past year, he said most regions had suffered the same fate.
"Business closures and downsizing in regional centres has seen people moving to find work but at the same time unable to sell property, leading to their homes being launched privately into the rental market pending that sale.
"Those vacating rentals are placing yet more property on to the tenancy market."
Mr Stewart said there had been "good progression" in rural markets across the country, but until the local economy rose, sales would remain stagnant elsewhere.
A lift in the house sales market could reverse rental trends nationally, he said.
"It's a pretty simple equation really - it takes confidence, affordability and a required level of stability in commerce."
Real Estate Institute Queenstown spokesman Adrian Snow said December's theme for recorded real estate sales in Queenstown showed there were 40 residential dwelling sales recorded - the same number as the previous month.
He said confidence in Queenstown real estate continued to show a slow and steady growth, supporting economists' opinions the bottom of the recessionary period was disappearing.
It appeared there was a long period of gradual recovery ahead.
