Stress cracks start to show in Queenstown property

The number of interest-only mortgages is growing in the lakes region. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Mon, 30 Jan 2023

Queenstown’s house prices, at a median of $1.23 million, are the highest in the country – and the region is still the busiest, measured by the number of new mortgages being written. It also has the highest number of home buyers making ‘interest-only’ payments on their mortgages.Data from credit agency Centrix shows that Queenstown homeowners hold an average outstanding mortgage of $556,000. One in every eight of those borrowers, or 12%, are now only servicing the interest on their loans, the highest level in th...

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