Two-bedroom rentals in the resort town hit $924 a week on average according to realestate.co.nz, the Lakes District — including Queenstown — becoming the first district in the country to surpass $900 per week.
The new figures were indicative of a long-standing problem in the town, and involved knock-on impacts for employment, Wānaka Business Chamber general manager Glenn Peat said.
"It’s hard to attract team members and it’s hard to retain them because of the cost of living, but this is not a new story.
"We’ve got the demand for rental properties, and then we’ve got the supply. The next constraint is the cost, and there is a limited amount available at a certain price."
With market forces pushing up the price of rentals, the problems are worse for businesses in lower-wage industries such as hospitality and tourism, but it is not limited to them as professional services are struggling with the same issue.
And the potential arrival of the Santana Minerals gold-mining project could exacerbate the issue, Mr Peat said.
"I don’t have a crystal ball, so I don’t know, but if Santana come in, it’s going to increase demand. If supply doesn’t keep up, then the prices will probably go up."
Such significant housing costs could price locals out of the market, damaging community cohesion, Queenstown Lakes District deputy mayor Quentin Smith, of Wānaka, said.
"It has real consequences for social fabric.
"We want young people to be able to choose to stay in Wānaka, to have a career, and to live here and own houses, but many of our young people and young families might not be able to stay here."
If young families could not afford to live in the town, the result could be an "unusual impact on our demographics", Cr Smith said.
Those who stayed were likely to face continued difficulties due to the cost of living, which undermined the council’s ability to make much needed improvements to infrastructure.
"We have an impossible challenge because we continue to have an infrastructure debt as well as a growing community.
"We can’t squeeze ratepayers any further, so we need to find other ways to support our infrastructure needs," Cr Smith said.
"That’s why we’re working with the government around a visitor levy, or other measures that could support our infrastructure needs."
While realestate.co.nz’s figures are indicative of increasing prices in Wānaka, where two-bedroom homes are in short supply, the figures appear to be skewed by a small number of luxury properties.
At time of writing, there were three two-bedroom properties available for rent in Wānaka on realestate.co.nz, ranging in price from $660 to $890 per week.
