The recent sale of 14 apartments at the Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments in Queenstown is bucking trends and signalling an ongoing demand for quality contemporary property in the resort, says Harcourts Queenstown property consultant Warwick Osborne.
Mr Osborne said although apartment sales in the region were generally sluggish, The Rees continued to attract widespread interest nationally and offshore.
"The lakeside apartments, set in their magnificent alpine environment, are stand-out and stage two of the sell-down has been every bit as successful as we anticipated.
"It indicates that investors - particularly from Australia - are prepared to pay for property in key locations."
Stage one of the sell-down had earlier set the scene for a positive outcome for the second stage of the deadline sale, he said.
"There has been an increased awareness of Queenstown as an international tourist resort and the benefits of investing long term in the market here. We have had inquiries from around the world and certainly Australian buyers are looking at the resort as an ideal investment opportunity."
Apartment buyers can use the property as a permanent residence, as a holiday home or as part of The Rees accommodation scheme.
"The outlook across Lake Wakatipu backdropped by the Remarkables mountain range is a major drawcard but the superior fit-out is also an important contributor in people's decision to invest in The Rees."
The Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments recently received international recognition in the HotelClub.com annual worldwide 2011 Hotel Awards, winning the award for Outstanding Kiwi Chic, Design and Furnishings in New Zealand.
Queenstown furniture designer Ed Cruikshank, who trained in the UK and worked for Viscount David Linley for several years as a designer, custom designed an exclusive collection of furniture for The Rees, which has been highlighted for its outstanding, contemporary design by the HotelClub.com awards panel.
• In January, Rees chief executive Mark Rose discovered wrongly attributed negative reviews on the internet that were written before the hotel opened in 2009.
In February, it was revealed that online travel agent Travelocity had posted poor reviews of the America's Best Value Inn in Midland, Texas on its website - inadvertently assigning them to the luxury Queenstown hotel.
The posts have since been removed and there is now a disclaimer on the Rees' website.
