Innovative design configuration could enable first-home buyers to get a first foot up on the Queenstown property ladder
An innovative new housing development aimed at creating income-generating residential properties that first home buyers
and young families could get on the Queenstown property ladder with.
The terraced homes to be built on the fringe of Queenstown’s central business district are in a development named
Alexis, which will contain 32 multi-level two and three-bedroom homes.
The Alexis enclave – to be built on currently vacant land in Hallenstein Street just off the route to Coronet Peak –
will also contain six new convenience retail outlets. The two-bedroom/two storey terraced units will be 90 square
metres, while the three-bedroom/three level terraced units will be 130 square metres.
The three-bedroom units have been designed so that they can be occupied as either a three-bedroom dwelling with three
ensuite bathrooms, two living areas, a full kitchen and a smaller kitchenette, or they can be separated into a
two-bedroom residence and a self-contained one-bedroom apartment below.
Under the split/dwelling configuration option, a clever architect’s design has seen two separate entrance doors built
into the property, in conjunction with a lockable joining door in a lower hallway. It is a format often seen in major
hotels – where interconnecting rooms can either be let individually or as one combined family room.
Four of the Alexis apartments have been sold already, while a further 10 are under contract to be purchased. The
two-bedroom units are priced from $785,000, while the three-bedroom residences are priced from $945,000.
All come with one covered carpark in a secure gated area and will have shared access to a communal BBQ area and spa pool
facility. The Alexis development sits on the upper side of Hallentstein Street in a location which contains a mixture of
stand-alone residential dwellings on the city-side, and light industrial/small warehousing retail on the northern
quarter.
Th Alexis site is located within Queenstown’s Gorge Road Special Housing Area (SHA) allowing for the fast-track
development of residential properties. Homes in the Alexis project are being jointly marketed for sale by Bayleys
Auckland and Bayleys Queenstown.
Bayleys Auckland salesperson John Greenwood said the internal structural configuring option allowing for dual home and
legal income dwellings is a concept that allows for separate home and income that will assist in owners getting onto the
property ownership ladder.
“There are two very emotive topics dominating dinner-table talk about the Queenstown residential property market at
present – firstly, the cost of homes for first home buyers or younger families, and secondly, the lack of short term
rental accommodation for workers in the hospitality, tourism. and trades sectors,” Mr Greenwood said.
“The homes within the Alexis are designed to deliver solutions to both these issues. Firstly, enabling first home buyers
and young families to purchase a new home with rental income directly attached - in a property that can later be
reconfigured as the family grows. And secondly, providing brand new high quality rental accommodation for the region’s
workforce.
“The flexibility of the three-bedroom units enables young couples or first home buyers to live in either the
self-contained apartment or the two-bedroom unit and rent out the other portion of the property to derive income which
can assist in paying off their mortgage quicker.
“Central Queenstown is just seven minute’s walk from Alexis, making these units particularly attractive for workers in
the town’s hospitality, tourism and accommodation sectors.”
Bayleys Queenstown salesperson Jimmy Allen said the two-bedroom units would most likely be purchased as investment
properties.
Rental figures compiled by Otago Lakes residential property letting agency Queenstown Accommodation Centre show
one-bedroom units in the CBD-fringe Hallenstein Street locality could budget for rental income of $465 per week, while
two-bedroom units could comfortably generate a weekly rental of $630. Those figures equate to annualised rental income
ranging from approximately $24,180 up to $32,760. Or if all the property is rented out on a long term basis the income
could be $56,940
“From a pure investment perspective, the three-bedroom configured homes in Alexis offer a yield potential in the order
of six percent. That’s two points more than most residential rental yields,” Mr Allen said.
The two-bedroom Alexis apartments will sit above six new retail sites. Mr Greenwood said the proposed tenancy nature of
the retail sites would be along the lines of cafes, and food offerings, or service-based entities such as health and
beauty spas, hair salons, care will be taken in selecting the tenants that they will be compatible with a mixed use
development, that will compliment each other.
Construction at Alexis is scheduled to begin in the middle of the year, and be completed in third quarter of 2019.
Caption: An innovative new Queenstown housing project, named Alexis, is aimed at creating income-generating residential
properties that will suit first home buyers and young families, or investors alike.