Deserted New Zealand village up for sale for US$1.8 million after stampede to live in cities
- Lake Waitaki boasts mountain views, eight three-bedroom homes, a restaurant, a lodge, water rights, nine garages and 14 hectares of land.
- Chinese investors among those expressing interest.
An entire village that has been deserted for three decades is up for sale in New Zealand.
Lake Waitaki village was built in the 1930s as workers accommodation for dam labourers but has lain largely empty since 1989 when the dam’s operation was automated.
Located on the edge of the Waitaki dam in the South Island, it boasts mountain views as well as eight three-bedroom homes, a restaurant, a lodge, water rights, nine garages and 14 hectares of land – all for US$1.8 million.
Waitaki is just one of many small communities that have struggled to stay afloat as the New Zealand’s population has become increasingly urbanised. Two years ago, the tiny town of Kaitangata in South Otago launched a global campaign to boost its population, saying it had too many jobs, too many houses and not enough people to fill them.
The Labour-led government has earmarked US$650 million a year for the regional development fund, designed to revitalise the regions by luring people away from the cities and back to struggling rural areas.
Lake Waitaki was sold by the state to a private buyer in 1991 before passing through several hands over the years.