Bendemeer experiencing strong sales and rapid growth

Queenstown’s Bendemeer experiencing strong sales and rapid growth

Bendemeer project manager Sarah Cairns at one of the recently-sold sites within the premier rural lifestyle development.

Queenstown’s premier rural residential lifestyle development, Bendemeer, is celebrating five successful years since its acquisition and rejuvenation by Mount Farm Ventures Limited (MFVL).

The exclusive development has experienced particularly strong interest in the last quarter, with eight land lots totalling more than $7 million sold in the past six weeks. Stage Two of a three-stage sales strategy is now complete, and just three sites remain in the final stage which is yet to be released to the market.

MFVL owner Alistair Jeffery attributes the heightened activity to the overall strength of the current regional market and continued trust in the Bendemeer brand, as well as the strong community spirit that is now emerging within the master-planned development.

“Over the past five years, our focus has been on lifting the overall development back into ‘best of breed’ mode,” he says. “This has involved reinstating the owner-controlled management company and putting it on a sound financial footing, and lifting the presentation of the site back to a high level.

“Bendemeer’s staged sales strategy has also benefitted land seekers – we designed it to ensure that sites left at the end of the sales process did not have a 'cherry-picked' feel to them. Each stage was made up of a range of different site types, including elevated, more or less sheltered, remote and more sociable, so there has always been something to appeal to everyone.”

Bendemeer has a dominant share in the Queenstown high-end rural residential land market; 28 sales with an average price of $885,000 have been completed in the past four years. The development comprises 110 hectares of rolling pastureland with five natural ponds and has traditionally attracted buyers seeking sun, shelter and solitude with spectacular 360-degree views. The addition of the new Wet Jacket wine cellar door at the historic Bendemeer Woolshed has further enhanced its appeal.

“The environment at Bendemeer is exceptionally unique and the homes starting to emerge within the development are world-class, yet sympathetic to the natural landscape. There’s simply no better place to live,” Jeffery adds.

As well as seven kilometres of rabbit-proof fencing circling its perimeter, Bendemeer now has seven complete homes, three under construction and a further five homes are due to be underway later this year. Many of the dwellings have been designed by renowned New Zealand architects, including Warren & Mahoney, Dravitzki Brown, Ponting Fitzgerald and Mason & Wales.

"The three sites which remain in Stage Three are still to be released and further details of these will be communicated soon,” Bendemeer Project Manager Sarah Cairns says. As with the previous two stages, the sites have a range of different features and guide prices range from $950,000 to $1.15 million.

ENDS

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