No ordinary subdivision: $720k just for the section

Anyone with a spare $600,000 can choose among some of the last residential plots on the Queenstown side of Lake Wakatipu's Frankton Arm. The third stage of the Remarkables View subdivision, directly above the new Frankton Marina, is currently for sale. Nine sections have sold while 11, including four unit-capable lots in the previous stage, are still for sale. Prices in the new stage – off Angelo Drive, which runs off Middleton Road – range from $580,000 to $720,000, while sizes range from 533 square metres to 1375sqm.

While the prices are steep, they reflect "the development costs on this type of terrain".

However, the reward's undoubtedly the panoramic views, from the Crown Terrace on one side to Cecil and Walter Peaks on the other side, not to mention the handy location. Hayes says inquiries have picked up over the past two weeks after slowing down late last year.

He notes in the earlier stages "a reasonable number of people have already built".

With no restrictive developer covenants in place, he says people can build anything they like so long as it's within district plan rules. He expects titles for this stage will be issued around the end of March.

This release is again a joint venture between the Hensman family and Queenstown Hill's Middleton family. Grant Hensman says about 12 to 15 years' development work has already gone in.

The timing of various stages, he says, has been governed by the market. "The ban on foreign buyers has affected the market, there's no question about that.

"You're also at the whim of the council to get the thing through, which just seems to take longer. "Nothing has got quicker."

He says quite a lot more residential land will be developed higher up.