Queenstown. We all love it, tourists love it and it’s an addictive place. Sure, some people like Wanaka and other smaller South Island locations more but the numbers have continually shown that Queenstown is New Zealand’s tourist mecca.

We teach long term, low risk investing so a tourist town isn’t typically in our curriculum.

New Zealand is changing, however, and, alongside Rolleston in Canterbury, Queenstown Lakes district is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regional authorities and an investing location you should consider as part of a diversified portfolio.

Why? I wrote last month about affordability, technology and the fact immigrants predictably flow from north to south when they arrive on our shores. Jump down to the middle of the South Island and you have a location that continually ranks in the top five tourist destinations in the world with new infrastructure that is now making Kiwis seriously consider moving there on top of the one/two million tourists who do it for a few days each year.

Many of our friends in the Wellington region are doing just this. One of the Xero founders just moved from Greytown in the Wairarapa to Arrowtown for lifestyle reasons and he is still very active in business.

In the “old” days it all seemed like a wonderfully romantic idea, moving to lifestyle destinations – but the reality was it just didn’t work. The infrastructure wasn’t there, transport was expensive and a logistical problem and it usually meant the kids being put in boarding schools, which was the emotional anchor that typically stopped the move.

It’s a very different story now and here are a few reasons why:

• Queenstown airport operating hours extend to 10pm in 2016 with visitor nights stayed already up 9.6% year-on-year January 2014 – 2015.
• Investment in two new schools in Queenstown on top of New Zealand’s flagship outdoor pursuits school in Wanaka.
• The creation of 700-800 jobs once $250 million of commercial projects currently being built are complete.
• Serious population growth – Queenstown and Wanaka’s populations are projected to nearly double over the next 10 years.
• Price: compared with such major cities as Auckland, Wellington and even Christchurch, Queenstown is still a very affordable place to live.
• Lifestyle: with cheaper flights and faster internet, the dream becomes a reality.

Whether or not you like the bright lights of Queenstown, it is now a serious economic powerhouse. Property prices are on the climb and it’s still very early in the region’s growth cycle.

A brand new house and land package in the $400,000s can be purchased and if you go second hand it is an even more affordable place to invest or live in. So, it may pay to take a tax deductible research trip down there some time to check it out.

Campbell Venning has been investing in property for over 20 years and is a director of Positive Real Estate, a New Zealand and Australian business that educates customers in long-term, low-risk investing as well as providing a licensed real estate agency exclusively for their clients. Visit wwwpositiverealestate. co.nz to find out more.