Celebrated Harcourts Agents Richard and Sue Woerlee Return to Central Otago & Queenstown, Bringing Expertise in Lifestyle Properties

Such is the ‘pull’ of the Central Otago and Queenstown region that two of Harcourts’ most celebrated lifestyle property agents have returned to take up residence – like a good wine for which the region is renowned.

After almost 30 years’ living in Queenstown and Arrowtown Richard and Sue Woerlee made the move to Christchurch way back in 2006. They’d played an important role in opening and successfully establishing the multi-award-winning Harcourts Arrowtown office, but Sue wanted to pursue her passion for equestrian dressage and their son was at boarding school in Christchurch.

Sue admits she “didn’t make a good boarding school parent” and the move resolved that, while also enabling her to eventually compete at the NZ Dressage Championships.

Their business flourished – spending several years in the top 5% of national salespeople and eventually specialising in lifestyle properties and quality residential homes in and around North Canterbury for Harcourts. Business success continued, recognised as Harcourts’ Top Lifestyle Property Sales Team in Canterbury and featuring in national awards from 2018 to 2024.

And now they’re back down south.

“We’ve been wanting to come back for quite some time but the Canterbury business had grown so much and there were so many referrals and repeat clients it was hard to leave!” says Sue.

“But what brought us back is quite simply that this region is home. We couldn’t procrastinate any more, we just needed to do it.

“We loved the idea of being closer to family and where we’re living in Queensberry means we have land for us and the horses and we’re handy to everything.” 

While the couple are working out of the Cromwell office, their ‘patch’ is large, selling lifestyle properties throughout the Southern Lakes and Central Otago areas for Harcourts Highland Group.

“Having been in this business for as long as we have means we provide truly professional advice to owners and buyers,” says Richard. “Our success is based on offering a really high level of service and sales expertise.”

Sue says it’s also about “loving what we do”, being results driven and the knowledge that their top achievements and the many referrals they get have come from focussing on helping people achieve a great result when selling their property and being fully supported along the way.

And the lifestyle market in the wider Otago region is certainly growing.

“There’s so many more lifestyle properties on the market and there’s more to come,” says Sue.

“Bannockburn, Queensberry and Bendigo are all part of a burgeoning area that’s going to be welcoming more and more people from all around New Zealand,” says Richard.

“With the expertise that we bring to this market and years of expertise and contacts in a very niche market we’re thrilled to be back and working in this area.

“We already have significant demand for properties in the area from our contacts in Canterbury and further afield.”

As to what qualifies as a lifestyle property?

“Anything 2000sqm or larger is what we’d call a lifestyle property,” says Richard. “It’s either land and a home or land on which buyers can build a home.”

The last word goes to Sue.

“It’s great to be home,” she says. “We love what we do and being able to offer value to our clients.”