‘Hot’ Property Market Reflected In Phenomenal Mackenzie Basin Section Sell-down

Section sales at a new residential development in the tranquil Central South Island township of Lake Tekapo have ‘gone through the roof’ – with nine sites snapped up on the first day.

The sections within the burgeoning Lake Tekapo residential enclave known as Station Bay went onto the market in mid-November – with an open home style viewing attracting scores of potential buyers from throughout Canterbury and Otago, who were joined by numerous curious Lake Tekapo locals interested to see where all the traffic in town was heading.

Station Bay – located on the shores of lake Tekapo, with the majestic Southern Alps as a backdrop comprises 48 residential sections within the first stage. The developer has worked hard on trying to create a high-quality environment that will complement the surrounding areas - with a real focus on landscaping utilising locally sources materials for the feature schist walls, established trees and mass native planting to soften and blend into the high country environment.

Of the remaining Station Bay sections for sale, lots range in size from 318-square metres up to 756-square metres, priced from $375,000 to $550,00 depending on land size and location within the development. The project is being undertaken by long-established New Zealand-owned property developer Covington Group.

Sections within Station Bay are being marketed for sale through Bayleys Real Estate. Bayleys Canterbury general manager Pete Whalan said that while individual section sale prices could not be disclosed at this stage, the majority of buyers who signed up on the opening weekend came from the Canterbury province, and had expressed their intentions for building holiday homes.

“The pace at which sections within Station Bay sold down literally went through the roof. While we knew demand would be strong, no-one envisaged the degree of buyer activity which was experienced. The market has clearly seen the attraction of affordable prime-situated land in a what has previously been a tightly-held and relatively remote location,” Mr Whalan said.

“The developer was thrilled with the open day - not only for the interest in the sections but also the community response to the development. We knew there was a latent demand in Tekapo for a high quality development that purchasers have been waiting so long for. This is a very special place and will be the closest you will get to the lake in Tekapo.

“Based on the sales results achieved after just one weekend, both Covington Group, and Bayleys are now confident the majority of Station Bay sections will be sold this year – well ahead of our original forecasts.

“And on longer projections taking in to account the amount of holiday traffic which will be passing through Lake Tekapo over the Christmas and New Year period, Station Bay could well be sold out by the end of summer 2022,” Mr Whalan said.

Mr Whalan said that following the huge opening weekend sell down, there was now ensuing interest coming in from builders in the Mackenzie Basin and North Otago regions – keen to add to the town’s limited existing housing stock, much of which has traditionally been utilised as holiday homes for both Cantabrians and Otago-ites. Additional open home viewing days are now planned at Station Bay for the remainder of this year.

Infrastructure, roading, a fibre telco’ network, and footpaths have already been completed within the Station Bay development. Individual section titles are expected to be issued by the end of this year/early 2022 – with building covenants stipulating what types of residential dwellings can be built within the Station Bay enclave.

Mr Whalan said section sizes created within Station Bay had specifically been created to suit holiday home style three and four-bedroom dwellings – with spacious lawn areas and regularly shaped building platforms.

Located midway between Christchurch and Queenstown on State Highway 8, Lake Tekapo town has a population of approximately 558 people according to the most recent census. Mr Whalan said Lake Tekapo’s current resurgence was founded on Kiwis’ re-found love of the great outdoors around the settlement – encompassing numerous hiking tracks, mountain biking trails, aquatic-based recreational activities, and skiing in winter.

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