buying in Kingston? Qtown area

[JBM]

The reason I mentioned the $580 figure for Queenstown was in case we ever consider swapping one of our Auckland houses for one in Queenstown if our daughter ends up settling there.
I did notice a few houses in Queenstown central for not to much more,but dont know the area to well,so should really go down for a visit at some stage.
Im wondering what the average is for a decent 3 bdrm house in Queenstown

average for a decent 3 bdrm newish would be round the that 580k esp. if you want decent winter sun

most of Qtown dosent see the sun in the winter

Thats why most of the smart locals live in the sunny spots like in the Valley-Lake hayes est,Arrowtown and Frankton ,Kelvin heights ,Arthurs point etc

[skid]

Very good to know --Thanx guys--Sounds like winter would be the best time to look

[Orpheus1]

Very good to know --Thanx guys--Sounds like winter would be the best time to look

My experience is winter is the worst time to look as there are 10's of thousands on cashed up Aussie's skiers here looking in every real estate window.
So vendors get multi offers or lots of interest which confirms there astronomical asking price.
Two out of the three I bought here were on the market through winter but failed to sell for what ever reason.
After the all the tourists left and the tumble weed could be seen rolling down the street I put in lower offers and had some great success.
Just my 2c.

O

[JBM]

My experience is winter is the worst time to look as there are 10's of thousands on cashed up Aussie's skiers here looking in every real estate window.
So vendors get multi offers or lots of interest which confirms there astronomical asking price.
Two out of the three I bought here were on the market through winter but failed to sell for what ever reason.
After the all the tourists left and the tumble weed could be seen rolling down the street I put in lower offers and had some great success.
Just my 2c.

O

Well mid Winter is a good time to checkout the better spots to live if you like the SUN....maybe not the best time to buy >>

As for tumble weeds rolling down the street been awhile since I've seen the CBD that quiet MAY was always one of the Quietest periods
of the year ..basically now ... been out of late and have come across many a traffic jam....no tumble weeds

[Winston001]

average for a decent 3 bdrm newish would be round the that 580k esp. if you want decent winter sun

Yes but not in Central Queenstown which is what Skid was looking at.

Lake Hayes Estate, Arthurs Point more likely and nothing wrong with those locations.

[Orpheus1]

Yes but not in Central Queenstown which is what Skid was looking at.

Lake Hayes Estate, Arthurs Point more likely and nothing wrong with those locations.

I paid 600k for a 3 bed/ 1 bath 260sqm house on 650sm high density section on Queenstown hill in Oct 2012.
The houses do come up you just have to move when they do and know what your looking for.
gets great sun but at 500m to down town Queenstown i don't really care! plus its an investment property not a PPOR.

Oh and forget boydtown, I don't count that as central QT. It will/ might be in 10/15 years.

The tumble weed reference was for dramatic effect!!
But offers do dry up once the crazy Ozzi mining money flies back across the ditch

Forget shoulder seasons, town is booming!!!

O

[skid]

My experience is winter is the worst time to look as there are 10's of thousands on cashed up Aussie's skiers here looking in every real estate window.
So vendors get multi offers or lots of interest which confirms there astronomical asking price.
Two out of the three I bought here were on the market through winter but failed to sell for what ever reason.
After the all the tourists left and the tumble weed could be seen rolling down the street I put in lower offers and had some great success.
Just my 2c.

O

Thanx -good thinking (i was mentioning winter more in terms about sun and dampness in terms of seeing at the worst-in terms of areas)but ofcourse there are other ways to do this.
Im not in a great hurry--Qtown and Auckland are both on the rise,and I would want to make sure our daughter is really serious about settleing.

[skid]

Im a bit more of a summer person so perhaps renting to the ski crowd in winter and go live and be close to the daughter in summer would be a good formula.
It would also be a good place to host overseas friends.

Id be interested to know where are easy rental locations aside from central Queenstown--cheers

Bear with me--Im just a greenhorn for this general location

[JBM]

Another thing to think about is the fact that Queenstown CBD is dividing ..downtown Queenstown is mostly the base for

1#-Bars/nightclubs/hotels/food/high end shopping-TOURIST's CBD

where Frankton is the Growing LOCALS CBD (latest development 130mill 28,000sqm retail complex)overall this area

2# - Super stores- Industrial i.e-Mega Mitre10,New World,Briscoes,Warehouse,Rebel,Placemakers,etc

I personal don't go to Qtn CBD very often esp now that many food/Banks etc are moving out to Frankton (short 5min drive from Lake hayes est)

Now IMHO this means rental wise you will get more short term tourist type renters close to Qtn CBD where the bulk of your close to Frankton CBD will be longer term renters

[skid]

Another thing to think about is the fact that Queenstown CBD is dividing ..downtown Queenstown is mostly the base for

1#-Bars/nightclubs/hotels/food/high end shopping-TOURIST's CBD

where Frankton is the Growing LOCALS CBD (latest development 130mill 28,000sqm retail complex)overall this area

2# - Super stores- Industrial i.e-Mega Mitre10,New World,Briscoes,Warehouse,Rebel,Placemakers,etc

I personal don't go to Qtn CBD very often esp now that many food/Banks etc are moving out to Frankton (short 5min drive from Lake hayes est)

Now IMHO this means rental wise you will get more short term tourist type renters close to Qtn CBD where the bulk of your close to Frankton CBD will be longer term renters

Thanx for that--I know my daughter lives rents in Qtown and rides her bike to work near the airport(takes her about 30min)so cant be to far.

[HelloPanda]

Hi, I am new to this forum. Chanced upon this topic as I am also considering a place at Kingston. Besides being more affordable, the place seems to be relatively peaceful! Just concerned about the weather and inconvenience. Planning to make a visit to Kingston soon to find out more, but it may not accurately reflect the living condition there. Any thoughts from people staying at Kingston?

[jimO]

Hi, I am new to this forum. Chanced upon this topic as I am also considering a place at Kingston. Besides being more affordable, the place seems to be relatively peaceful! Just concerned about the weather and inconvenience. Planning to make a visit to Kingston soon to find out more, but it may not accurately reflect the living condition there. Any thoughts from people staying at Kingston?

not much there

[skid]

OK so Ive come to Queenstown to visit the daughter--my conclusion is that fernhill would be ok if we just came for summer and rented in winter because of the views (but would of course have to put up with minimal sun in winter--the big disadvantage)--there are more listings and probably a better chance of getting an eventual deal(although not living here a definite disadvantage(and daughter is away till next April)

Our favorite would be Frankton (dispite the airport) but its more expensive and would be trickier to score something--We are after some thing small but hopefully stand alone (older?) and views of the Remarkables would be on the list for either place.

It would have to be rentable in winter---If we were coming to live It would be Arrowtown

The body corp with flats is a real turn off so thats out.

Ive accepted that its going to be a hard slog in terms of not being on deck---so thats where we are so far

Wish we had set aside more time to look,but had obligations back home.

If any of you locals stumbles on something interesting (if your not looking to buy for yourself) feel free to PM me.

Work in progress.....

[Orpheus1]

"If any of you locals stumbles on something interesting (if your not looking to buy for yourself) feel free to PM me."

The advice I got in 2010 before buying 3 properties in QT in 3 years was:

"If you find a good deal don't tell anybody, not even me"

Id stay away from Fernhill as it was always the affordable area for locals but now that shot over country has arrived everyone is selling up and moving.

So there will be little demand for fernhill unless its emotional investors sold on the view. Great rental area however but I think not so good for resale.

Lakeside stand alone houses on Thompson street would be ideal for a do- up.

O

[JBM]

The single most important fact is when you buy make sure you buy freehold title
Over the 14yrs I,ve lived here I,ve seen many people buy a unit , townhouse etc to
Not see much capital gain while the areas that were once seen as lower end .. Aka arrowtown have boomed...
As it's the land not the leaky old home on it that's going up in value...
What Queenstown is going to run out far quicker than units ... Is large flat sections in sunny all year round sections..... Just like the lake front then lake view the next is sunny flat land close to airport etc ...