Luxury Co-Ownership: How Affluent Aussies Are Sharing High-End Holiday Homes
An intriguing new holiday home concept is emerging for high net worth Australians.
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Affluent Aussies with a savvy financial mindset have been sharing the expense of their luxury lifestyles for years through yacht and private jet syndicates, and now the idea has stretched to high-end holiday homes.
A concept known as Second Home has reached the millionaire playground of Queenstown, New Zealand and the idea is tipped to soon take flight across the ditch.
Longtime co-ownership pioneers John and Sharon Russell started selling shares in luxury boats in Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast in 1999 and have now entered the holiday home space with Second Home.
Investors can purchase shares in a fully-managed vacation property, but unlike a timeshare, each owner’s name is on the title. As a result, the shares remain a sellable and appreciating asset.
“This is very similar to buying into a boat syndicate where you own a share and can use it as if it’s yours, without the full cost and responsibility of owning the boat outright,” Mr Russell said.
“With Second Home, you are purchasing the bricks and mortar of a New Zealand holiday home valued at over A$2.5 million – with your name on the title, and access to it and all the wonderful activities in and around Queenstown for six weeks each and every year.”
Currently under construction in the Kiwi ski town, there is a three bedroom apartment in the Jacks Point development on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, pictured. Eight shares of the architecturally designed, fully furnished apartment are available, from A$325,000 and include six weeks usage of throughout each year.
Mr Russell said the concept is a far cry from the better known short term rental schemes.
“This is not a hotel or Airbnb with tourists coming and going – the only people who stay in the home are the owners and their guests, who we encourage to get to know each other,” he explained.
“Second Home is ideal for people who aspire to own a holiday home and return with family and friends to enjoy the same region each year, but don’t want to invest so much capital in owning an apartment outright, only for it to be locked up for months on end.”
Additionally, he said the ongoing costs of owning a holiday home are also shared among owners.
“In the case of Jacks Point, each investor’s share of expenses is about $7000 annually, which covers body corporate and management fees, insurances and maintenance,” he added.
“Overall, that’s still significantly cheaper than booking accommodation each time they’d like to holiday in New Zealand.”
Property prices in Queenstown have increased by approximately 7 per cent a year over the past decade, with property experts tipping the median will continue to rise.
While Queenstown property prices have come off their post-pandemic high, the longterm snapshot of the popular holiday destination show that it has experienced incredible growth.
Data from realestate.co.nz showed from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2024, average asking prices in Central Otago-Queenstown Lakes rose 106.6 per cent.
After hitting a peak in November 2022, house prices fell 5.27 per cent before bottoming out in December 2022. The average price of a Queenstown property in December 2024, according to CoreLogic NZ, was A$1.65m with values up 2.17 per cent over the three months prior.
“There can be some very lucrative capital gains to be made by buying into a shared holiday home,” Mr Russell said.
Second Home’s other NZ location is a six-bedroom, French-style chateau in the Carrick Winery in Central Otago. It comes with a Land Rover Defender 130 and six e-bikes. There are 13 shares available, valued at A$445,000 each, with annual expenses of around A$8,600.
The Russells also have one $40,000 share remaining of thirteen in a four-bedroom villa near Florence, Italy, where shareholders can enjoy an authentic Italian rural lifestyle for one month every year.
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The 2026 McGrath Report warns that without urgent reforms to planning, infrastructure and construction, housing affordability will continue to slip beyond reach for most Australians.
3 min
Australia’s housing market has reached a critical juncture, with home ownership and rental affordability deteriorating to their worst levels in decades, according to the McGrath Report 2026.
The annual analysis from real estate entrepreneur John McGrath paints a sobering picture of a nation where even the “lucky country” has run out of luck — or at least, out of homes.
New borrowers are now spending half their household income servicing loans, while renters are devoting one-third of their earnings to rent.
The time needed to save a 20 per cent deposit has stretched beyond ten years, and the home price-to-income ratio has climbed to eight times. “These aren’t just statistics,” McGrath writes. “They represent real people and real pain.”
McGrath argues that the root cause of Australia’s housing crisis is not a shortage of land, but a shortage of accessibility and deliverable stock.
“Over half our population has squeezed into just three cities, creating price pressure and rising density in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane while vast developable land sits disconnected from essential infrastructure,” he says.
The report identifies three faltering pillars — supply, affordability and construction viability — as the drivers of instability in the current market.
Developers across the country, McGrath notes, are “unable to make the numbers work” due to labour shortages and soaring construction costs.
In many trades, shortages have doubled or tripled, and build costs have surged by more than 30 per cent, stalling thousands of projects.
Need for systemic reform
McGrath’s prescription is clear: the only real solution lies in increasing supply through systemic reform. “We need to streamline development processes, reduce approval timeframes and provide better infrastructure to free up the options and provide more choice for everyone on where they live,” he says.
The 2026 edition of the report also points to promising trends in policy and innovation. Across several states, governments are prioritising higher-density development near transport hubs and repurposing government-owned land with existing infrastructure.
Build-to-rent models are expanding, and planning reforms are gaining traction. McGrath notes that while these steps are encouraging, they must be accelerated and supported by new construction methods if Australia is to meet demand.
One of the report’s key opportunities lies in prefabrication and modular design. “Prefabricated homes can be completed in 10–12 weeks compared to 18 months for a traditional house, saving time and money for everyone involved,” McGrath says.
The report suggests that modular and 3D-printed housing could play a significant role in addressing shortages while setting a new global benchmark for speed, cost and quality in residential construction.
Intelligent homes
In a section titled Weathering the Future: The Power of Smart Design, the report emphasises that sustainable and intelligent home design is no longer aspirational but essential.
It highlights new technologies that reduce energy use, improve thermal efficiency, and make homes more resilient to climate risks.
“There’s no reason why Australia shouldn’t be a world leader in innovative design and construction — and many reasons why we should be,” McGrath writes.
Despite the challenges, the tone of the 2026 McGrath Report is one of cautious optimism. Demand is expected to stabilise at around 175,000 households per year from 2026, and construction cost growth is finally slowing. Governments are also showing a greater willingness to reform outdated planning frameworks.
McGrath concludes that the path forward requires bold decisions and collaboration between all levels of government and industry.
“Australia has the land, demand and capability,” he says. “What we need now is the will to implement supply-focused solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms.”
“Only then,” he adds, “can we turn the dream of home ownership back into something more than a dream.”
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