In 2024 alone, only Auckland and Christchurch, with much larger populations, approved more new homes.
More than 1500 new homes were consented in Queenstown Lakes in 2024, while 605 residential consents were issued in the third quarter of last year.
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) planning projections point to tens of thousands of new dwellings being built over the next three decades.
Electricity Authority figures also show substantial growth in the number of homes connected to the grid.
Active residential electricity connections in Queenstown Lakes District increased from 16,463 in 2017 to 20,192 by early 2023, and are now at more than 22,000.
Lake Wakatipu with Kelvin Heights (centre) and Queenstown.
Arrowtown-based economist and strategist Benje Patterson said the data pointed to an allocation issue rather than an overall supply shortage.
“There is no supply problem in Queenstown Lakes, it is an allocation issue,” he said.
“Queenstown Lakes builds homes at rates that are about five times the national average, but a large proportion of homes end up as holiday homes and secondary dwellings, which is why we see such a high rate of unoccupied dwellings.”
Patterson said the pattern was common in mountain resort towns internationally and had been present in Queenstown Lakes for decades, but had become more acute as housing affordability worsened.
He said simply increasing general housing supply was unlikely to resolve long-term affordability pressures on its own.
“The solutions are not just flooding the market with supply,” he said.
“What is needed is to ensure there are parts of the market where ownership is perpetually tied to providing secure housing.”
Fernhill recorded an unoccupied rate of about 13%, indicating a higher residential rate than suburbs like Kelvin Heights and Queenstown Central. Photo / File
Patterson pointed to large-scale build-to-rent models, such as Simplicity’s proposal for about 600 homes in Queenstown, and the expansion of community housing providers such as the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust, as examples of approaches aimed at securing long-term affordable housing.
Housing pressures are also pushing locals further out of the district’s centre.
A locally-born and raised lawyer, who asked not to be named, said he and his partner had spent more than a year trying to buy a home in Queenstown before giving up and purchasing land in the small town of Kingston instead
“We went to several auctions and nine times out of 10 we were getting outbid, often by buyers on the phone. Our budget was about $1.3m and we still couldn’t make it work,” he said.
He said buying in Kingston was “100% out of necessity” – the land they purchased was $350,000.
The man’s partner, also a lawyer, moved to Queenstown from London and said the rental market when she arrived was challenging.
“For my second rental I had more interviews than I did for my current job. I was paying $450 a week for a cold apartment and later paid more again to share a house with four other people,” she said.
An electrician, who asked not to be named, said he moved to Queenstown from Hamilton last year and lives in Jack’s Point with his wife. He said finding a rental was “chaotic”.
An Arrowtown-based economist says there is no issue with Queenstown Lake’s housing supply, but rather its allocation. Photo / File
“It took me around two months to find a place, and $700 a week for a two-bedroom house is basically the minimum now,” he said.
National rental data, from realestate.co.nz, shows the average weekly rent across New Zealand sat at $626 in December 2025.
The same data shows Central Otago Lakes District, which includes Queenstown Lakes, is the most expensive place in the country to rent, with average weekly rents reaching a record $891.
The electrician said the uncertainty of fixed-term tenancies added to the stress.
“After a year I don’t know what’s going to happen. That’s the stressful part – knowing I might have to go through all of this again.”
Census, population and tenancy data indicate that while the housing stock has expanded rapidly, a substantial proportion of homes are not occupied by residents, and the availability of long-term rentals has declined on a per-capita basis.
The most recent census, conducted in 2023, shows more than one in four private dwellings across Queenstown Lakes were unoccupied (either empty or with residents away on census night) – more than double the national rate of 10.8% (about one in nine homes).
That proportion barely shifted between the 2018 and 2023 censuses, even as thousands of new homes were added and the resident population surged.
In some of the district’s most desirable suburbs, the imbalance is far sharper.
In Kelvin Heights, a picturesque suburb known for its panoramic views of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables mountains, 35.5% of private dwellings were unoccupied in 2023.
Queenstown Centre recorded a similar pattern, with about one in three homes unoccupied, while Arrowtown and Wānaka Central both sat around the 30% mark.
By comparison, Fernhill recorded an unoccupied rate of about 13%, while Lake Hayes Estate recorded about 5% unoccupied – figures closer to the national average.
Both suburbs also recorded strong population growth over the same period.
About 30% of Arrowtown’s homes were unoccupied at the time of the 2023 census. Photo / Eleanor Hughes
Tenancy Services bond data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows the number of active long-term rental bonds in Queenstown Lakes has increased over time, but not kept pace with population growth.
In early 2013, the district had about 118 active rental bonds per 1000 residents.
By late 2025, that figure had fallen to about 100 per 1000 residents.
This indicates that, on a per-person basis, fewer long-term rental properties are being occupied now than was the case a decade ago.
Short-term rental market data suggests a large number of properties in the district are being used for visitor accommodation.
Market data from short-term rental analytics firm AirDNA, which tracks Airbnb and Vrbo activity, shows there are about 2900 to 3000 active listings in Queenstown Lakes.
About 89% of listings are for entire homes rather than private rooms.
Around six in 10 listings are available for more than 270 nights per year, and average annual revenue per property exceeds $46,000, according to the same data.
The census does not record how unoccupied homes are used – some may be holiday homes, some may be temporarily vacant and some may be used for short-term accommodation.
Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said Queenstown Lakes was building more homes relative to its population than anywhere else in the country, yet demand continued to outstrip supply.
“Housing supply is running at a much faster pace compared to other parts of New Zealand, but it still hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand,” he said.
Eaqub said the data suggested the problem was not simply the number of homes being built, but whether housing was reaching the parts of the market where it was most needed.
“Without the progressive accumulation of retained affordable housing stock, the status quo will continue, and likely worsen,” he said.
He warned the long-term risks were damage to the district’s social fabric and the ability of workers to remain in the community.
Eaqub said demand pressures in Queenstown Lakes included population growth as well as demand from holiday homes, short-term rentals and worker accommodation, meaning general supply alone was unlikely to resolve affordability pressures.
A QLDC spokesperson said the figures used in the Herald’s analysis broadly aligned with the council’s understanding of housing patterns in the district.
They said the Census 2023 figure showing 27% of dwellings unoccupied on census night included holiday homes and properties where usual residents were temporarily away, and did not necessarily mean those homes were empty year-round.
Council also monitors short-term rental activity and said about 12% of the district’s housing stock is used for short-term accommodation, with numbers fluctuating seasonally during peak summer and winter periods.
The spokesperson said council’s primary levers were around enabling housing supply through planning and infrastructure, including major growth areas such as Te Pūtahi Ladies Mile and Te Tapuae Southern Corridor, which together could enable up to 11,700 homes over the next 30 years.
However, they said council’s ability to regulate short-term rentals and tenancy settings was constrained, with most of those settings controlled by central government or existing laws.
Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.