Building sites dotted around the Wakatipu do not appear to be as busy with contractors as might be expected.
However, the district's Big Three construction companies confirm they have multiple projects on the go at different stages of completion and labour demand was likely to increase in the near future.
Construction chiefs said there was a large pool of carpenters and builders to draw from, thanks to the slowdown in the housing market on both sides of the Tasman.
Naylor Love Construction Ltd gets several phone calls a week from labourers seeking employment.
Naylor Love is working on the 36-unit Pounamu luxury apartments on Panorama Terrace, which is expected to be completed in a month.
An upmarket retail and office unit at Remarkables Park should be ready by the end of August and the 28-unit marina apartments are set for December.
Mr Taylor said there were more than 100 labourers working for Naylor Love.
There was a base of about 70 employees and the rest were hired from labour-only contractors who worked to fill demand.
"Remarkables Park, the Milbrook Resort extension, Jacks Point and the Kawarau Falls Station particularly will be a big drain when it gets into full swing next year.
It'll offer enough work to keep the major companies occupied."
Mr Taylor said he expected the labour demand to dip in August and September with major projects scheduled to finish their construction.
"If they can't find work in three or four months, there is a danger of them looking for work elsewhere, but Australia's housing market is in a similar state.
Queenstown will be looking at an uplift if all the big developments come together."
Rilean Construction Ltd is holding about the same workforce as last year - 50 directly employed and contracted labourers, mainly carpenters.
Projects Rilean was working on included the historic frontaged Mountaineer, now being dewatered as it is 2m below lake level, plus new classrooms at Wakatipu High School, a new bungy building at Nevis and a large commercial development in Cromwell.
This week, the company starts building a $2 million private residence on Aspen Grove and converts a resource room into a classroom at Wanaka Primary School.
Director Steve McLean said labourers drifting away from Queenstown "is a risk with any time and we get that to a certain degree.
We get that with people who come here and find the cost of living too dear."
Mr McLean said there was not a shortage of workers and there had been a good response to an advertisement for carpenters.
More hands might be hired in addition to the 23 involved in Rilean's joint venture with Amalgamated Builders Ltd (ABL) to construct "reserve north", which will become the Westin Queenstown Hotel and the first stage of the Kawarau Falls Station.
ABL is also working a four-unit luxury apartment block on Marine Parade, to finish next month, and a three-unit apartment and penthouse complex on Lake Esplanade, to be complete by late August.
Queenstown manager Karsten Pedersen said ABL's staff of 45 labourers in Central Otago was at the same level as last year.
"There's consistent significant growth in commercial developments.
"The residential side of things has dropped off but we'll see more infrastructural work . . . and other community facilities, playing catch-up in the next few years."
