For plenty of rural families across Otago and Southland, Wānaka has always been part of the plan. The place you head after the season wraps up. The town where the kids learned to ski. The spot you've quietly told yourself you'll buy into one day, when the timing's right.

For some, this year the timing might finally be right.

Youghal Street Villas is a new collection of just 15 architecturally designed homes at the end of a quiet no-exit street in original Wānaka, backing onto the fourth fairway of the golf course. It's the kind of address that rarely comes up. Seven minutes' walk to the lakefront, nine to the town centre, and yet the loudest thing you'll hear from your courtyard is someone lining up a putt behind you.

Each villa offers three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, open-plan living with European appliances, an internal access garage or secure carport, and secure storage for the golf clubs, e-bikes, or skis. And off the living area, a sunny private courtyard to relax with a morning coffee or evening wine, and not a job list in sight.

The ownership structure is refreshingly simple. These are freehold titles, not unit titles with body corporate fees attached. A resident's society covers the shared grounds at a substantially lower cost, and the homes themselves are built for low-maintenance living. Lock the door and everything stays exactly as you left it until you're next in town.

That flexibility is the real appeal. Live in it permanently. Keep it as the family's Wānaka base. Rent it out for the season while you finally take that trip. Or hold it as a solid, well-located asset in a town where demand has only ever moved one way.

The development comes from the Tara Iti Group, whose recent projects include residential developments in Matakana and Arrowtown, and 22Russell here in Wānaka. Developer Peter Wrathall, who leads the project with Ginny Clark, says the site offers something increasingly hard to find. "Youghal Street Villas reflects the original tranquillity of old school Wānaka," he says. Rather than traffic noise, residents look out over established trees and the fairway beyond.

Some decisions wait years for the right moment. For anyone who's quietly told themselves Wānaka is the eventual plan, an address like this coming up is reason enough to take a closer look.

Villa 1 is available now. To find out more or register your interest, contact Harcourts Wānaka sales consultant Terry Griffin.

Phone 021 997 122

Email: thegriffins@harcourts.co.nz