However, he said the market had changed since the recession started.
Where it used to be driven by investors, the local real estate market had been sustained through the recession by local and first-time buyers.
"There has been a steady growth in residential sales since July 2009, but it has been a slow and 'organic' growth.
"Forty-five properties were sold in the Wakatipu area last month. By comparison, up to 70-80 dwellings were sold per month in 2007, before the recession set in.
"But the bottom of the market has definitely been reached, and the median sale price is on the increase, though not as drastically as . . . in Auckland," Mr Snow said.
Prices were about 15% lower than when the market peaked in 2007, with 70% of residential sales now falling into the below-$600,000 bracket, he said.
"First-time buyers and local residents have been quick to react on the lower prices over the past year. Many potential customers still come into the real estate showrooms saying `Show me the bargains', but there are not many bargains left," Mr Snow said.
One way to find a bargain house might be to look for mortgagee auctions.
The number of mortgagee sales were still rising in the area, which Mr Snow saw as "the tail-end of the effects of the recession".
By the end of 2009, six or seven sections were being sold in Queenstown each month, compared with about 20 a month in 2007.
But those sold were generally purchased with the intention to build homes right away.
"It is a healthy sign for the local industry, when section buyers are actually in the market to build houses, rather than simply buying sections as a `land bank' investment," Mr Snow said.
The overseas investors, who traditionally accounted for about 15% of properties sold in Queenstown, had largely disappeared.
Mr Snow said there were still Australian buyers around, but investors from the United States and United Kingdom were staying away.
The international buyers were mainly New Zealanders based overseas.
"Queenstown is special because up to 40% of the homes here are not permanently occupied.
"A lot of the purchases we see here are therefore not meant as primary homes, but rather as `discretionary purchases'," he said.
Buyers had various motives for choosing Queenstown over larger towns, "but most of the investment purchases are made because the owners want to be here - either to live and work or to visit on a regular basis", Mr Snow said.
"It is still a reasonable investment opportunity, because if you look at other financial investment opportunities on the international market, how many of those opportunities have gotten through the recession with only a 15% decrease in value? "Except for those who bought their properties at the peak of the market in 2007, most property owners probably haven't lost on their investment," Mr Snow said.
He was confident the steady increase in prices and number of sales would continue through 2010.
"The lifestyle real estate market is still struggling to find the appropriate level, but the lower end of the market has adjusted to the current conditions.
"There are still buyers out there with money to spend, but they are critical about pricing, so it is crucial for vendors to be realistic about the price for their property," Mr Snow said.
