Unique chance to develop consented land in Twizel

Increasing demand from lifestyle buyers makes this an attractive proposition.

Afreehold 108ha block of land on State Highway 8, opposite the existing Twizel township, offers the opportunity to develop a major new lifestyle subdivision in the South Island’s Mackenzie Basin. Resource Consent is already in place for the development of 40 lifestyle blocks, says Colliers Queenstown broker Rory O’Donnell. “This is a unique opportunity to complete the development of a new, fully-serviced lifestyle subdivision. The location, views and consented lot sizes mean it will be placed at the higher end of the local property market – which represents very good value compared with centres like Queenstown and Wanaka.” Demand has increased in the Mackenzie Basin area among lifestyle buyers as the longerestablished towns of Queenstown and Wanaka become less affordable, O’Donnell says. “The red-hot Queenstown property market has already priced out many buyers and Wanaka is starting to show similar trends. We know that buyers are starting to look further afield to find wellpriced, serviced lifestyle sections, so the picturesque location of Twizel, with its mountain views and lake access, is an ideal location to pitch to this market,” he says. “We know that there is already demand for new, higher-end lifestyle development in Twizel, so we expect the chance to bring this subdivision to the market to appeal to developers looking to participate in the growth of the Mackenzie Country lifestyle market.” Twizel also has the added benefit of being closer to Christchurch than Queenstown and Wanaka, so premium sections in the town are likely to appeal to people from Christchurch looking for a well-located holiday home within easy driving distance for weekend breaks, says O’Donnell. The block of land is bordered by State Highway 8 (Tekapo-Twizel highway) and the Twizel River in an expanding holiday destination. It provides river and mountain views including views of Mt Cook, as well as easy access to Lake Ruataniwha, Lake Benmore and walking and cycling tracks across the picturesque Mackenzie District. Twizel is also the gateway to Aoraki Mt Cook World Heritage Park and is located within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve. Lake Ruataniwha offers a world-class rowing facility and the village centre provides a full range of cafés, shops and services to support people living and holidaying in the town. Local agents report good sales volumes for vacant residential and lifestyle sections, with increased enquiry levels and transactions occurring in the lifestyle sector of the market in Twizel over the past six to 12 months, O’Donnell says.