Tourist spot NZ's most affluent place to live

Queenstown and the Lakes District, the South Island's internationally renowned tourist area, has been rated as New Zealand's most affluent place to live.

The Lakes District and tourist town just scraped home over the North Shore City, in Auckland, said Stephen Hart, the author of a report which examined a range of factors from more than 70 territorial authorities throughout New Zealand.

He said, after producing a list of 20 cities and districts based on house prices, they also looked at several other factors, including households earning more than $100,000 a year, homes least likely to be in deprived areas, the percentage of residents with a degree, lowest unemployment rates, and residents who were chief executives, general managers or legislators.

In his report, commissioned by the ASB Bank, Mr Hart said Queenstown, where "more and more of our most successful city folk are choosing to call home", only just scraped home in first place ahead of North Shore City.

He said they were not searching for the domains of the super-rich or the hideaways of celebrities.

To read the full NZ Herald story click here

Posted: 5 Dec 2008

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