Stonewood Homes Queenstown sales boss Emily Wills says it’s the first company to get building consent for the 20-lot development off McDonnell Road.
Council issued titles in March, just before the Covid-19 lockdown, which “threw a bit of a spanner in the works” for section owners.
The build, due to start tomorrow, will be the first home for a “lovely young local couple”, Wills says.
Like many people in the resort, the couple experienced pay reductions as a result of the pandemic’s impact on the local economy, and were worried their bank would pull their funding.
“Now everything’s sorted for them and they’re just ecstatic.”
It’s a trying time for prospective home builders at the moment, with those relying on KiwiSaver balances to fund their deposits having seen their value drop in the past couple of months.
For the past few years, banks have encouraged borrowers to add a unit to their build to tap into rental or short-term accommodation income, but that’s not happening at the moment.
Wills is telling her clients they can build a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house anywhere in the Wakatipu for a fixed price of $311,000.
“If you add a unit, it’s another $100,000 at least.
“It’s about getting people to rethink a little bit. They may have a title coming up or they’ve settled on something … it might not be exactly what they wanted to do [pre-Covid], but they can still do it.”
Arrowfields sold out in December, only 17 months after the first sale.
Zoning rules and urban boundaries have made vacant lots as scarce as hens’ teeth in the township.
Ranging in size from 600 to 1073 square metres, they sold for between $500,000 and $595,000.
The subdivision’s within the Arrowtown South special zone, a 50ha area between McDonnell Rd, Centennial Avenue and the golf course.
It includes a major regeneration project and tracks leading from the subdivision into the neighbouring residential area.
Titles were held up in the subdivision while a stoush over a boardwalk, in front of Advance Terrace properties, was dealt with.
Its construction was part of a consent to form a public walkway.
