Wanaka's agents - there are more than 90 - are gearing up for an expected rush of inquiries this weekend sparked by thousands of visitors in town for the biennial Warbirds Over Wanaka airshow.
By next Wednesday, 293 open homes will have been held in the Wanaka area.
Open homes reach a peak at Easter, Anzac weekend and at Christmas, because vendors and agents purposely list to a wider market.
However, sales are not usually completed immediately.
‘‘There are definitely a lot of people in town for Warbirds. It is a busy time for us with so many people in town. And not everybody goes to Warbirds for three days and they decide to get in touch with a real estate agent . . . It is probably a little like at Christmas time. People look, but they don't buy until maybe six to eight weeks later,'' Mr Rainsford said.
Real estate statistics for February showed the number of sales at Wanaka were consistent with previous years but he had not had an opportunity to look at the most recent figures, he said
‘‘But I think you could see there are more listings. There is a better selection for purchasers,'' Mr Rainsford said from Christchurch yesterday.
Among new listings this weekend is the 18.6ha Alpha Ridge one of Wanaka's last remaining parcels of subdividable low-density residential land.
The land is between the Meadowstone subdivision and the slopes of Hillend Station on Mt Alpha and has gone to international tender.
A media release on behalf of vendor and agent Hamish Blennerhassett says the land was part of the former Wanaka Station and is on the market for the first time in 90 years.
