A 38ha site with the potential for 150 new homes near Lake Hayes is the first Special Housing Area under the Queenstown Lakes Housing Accord.
Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith and Queenstown Mayor Vanessa van Uden made the announcement this afternoon.
The accord was agreed in October 2014 between the Government and the council to address the district's housing supply and affordability issues. It allows for the creation of Special Housing Areas, in which qualifying developments can be streamlined and fast-tracked.
The housing area will be established at Bridesdale Farm, a greenfield site and adjoins the existing Lake Hayes development.
Dr Smith said 64 sections or house and land packages had already been pre-sold, and approximately 80% of the house and land packages have been priced at or below $450,000.
The minister said Queenstown had "the worst housing affordability in the country because insufficient land has been made available for housing and too few homes have been built in an accessible price range for young families and first home buyers.
"Home ownership in Queenstown amongst people under 40 has dropped by a staggering 33 percent, according to census data since 2001. The median multiple of house price to income in Queenstown is 8.9 as compared to 8.4 in Auckland and 5.5 nationally. Housing is deemed unaffordable above 4 and severely unaffordable above 5."
More 'family-friendly'
Dr Smith believed the special housing area was the first step in tackling this significant problem for the popular resort town and the community needed to address the issue.
"Queenstown's burgeoning tourism industry needs hundreds of hospitality and tourism workers, yet too many of these places are filled by overseas staff on work permits because the cost of housing is too steep for families,'' he said.
"Queenstown needs to become a more family-friendly community with the houses, facilities and support to make it a viable long-term home for people on modest incomes."
The accord is one of seven agreements the Government has made with local councils to improve housing supply and affordability. Dr Smith said the Government was also reducing building materials costs, reining in development contributions, cutting compliance costs and investing in skills and productivity in the construction sector.
Queenstown and Central Otago have kept pace with racing house values around the country during the past year.
Central Otago values rose 4% to $326,480, while in the Queenstown Lakes region they rose 7.2%, to $717,130, figures from Quotable Value released yesterday showed.
