Major Rolleston landholding in NZ’s fastest-growing district

A 9.5 hectare residential development site in Rolleston has been brought to market by CBRE on behalf of Ryman Healthcare, following the company’s decision to not proceed with a retirement village on the site.

583 East Maddisons Road comes to the market at a time when Rolleston and the wider Selwyn District continue to record some of New Zealand's strongest population and housing growth.

The medium density zoned site, surrounded by successful established and developing housing areas in the town’s southern corridor, is offered for sale by expressions of interest closing on Thursday 2 July 2026.

Cameron Darby, Director of Capital Markets at CBRE Christchurch, said the site offers developers the chance to secure a land holding of significant scale in a high-growth district.

“Ryman’s decision to divest this site constitutes a significant opportunity for residential developers. The surrounding area has established infrastructure and amenities already in place and significant further investment is underway. The site’s substantial size also offers the potential to create a large-scale master planned neighbourhood.”

The medium density residential zoning provides for a wide range of housing typologies including townhouses and duplexes, giving buyers flexibility in how they approach the site’s development. The zone is intended to support walkable neighbourhoods with access to essential services, which are becoming increasingly important as Selwyn grows.

The property sits within the Rolleston southern corridor, surrounded by established and emerging residential neighbourhoods. 

It is located within walking distance of the new Woolworths Rolleston South supermarket, currently under construction, and is also close to Rolleston’s town centre commercial and retail precinct.

The surrounding precinct continues to benefit from substantial public and private investment, future-proofing the long term significance and amenity of Rolleston, said Darby.

“Around $400m of completed and planned transport infrastructure investment supports the connectivity of Rolleston, including the Christchurch Southern Motorway extension, which has effectively halved the driving time between Rolleston and the Christchurch CBD. The new PAK'n SAVE Rolleston, which is the South Island's largest supermarket, is a further illustration of the high level of private sector confidence in the catchment.”

Rolleston is the largest urban centre in Selwyn District, which recorded the strongest territorial authority population growth in New Zealand between 2018 and 2023. Over that period, Selwyn’s population grew 29% compared with 6.3% nationally. 

The population of Rolleston township was estimated at 34,100 for 2025, growing at 4% annually against a national rate of 0.7%.

Residential building consents in Selwyn have followed the same trajectory, rising 15.5% year-on-year as at June 2025, compared with around 1% nationally. 

School and health enrolments are a further sign of the increasing popularity of Rolleston for families putting down roots. Rolleston College has rapidly become one of the South Island's largest secondary schools, while health enrolments grew 3.4% year-on-year to June 2025, compared with 1.9% nationally. This has driven major healthcare investment in the area, including the recently completed 4,000sqm Selwyn Health Hub and Health NZ Birthing Unit.

The site's scale, zoning and position within the southern Rolleston growth corridor make it a stand-out opportunity among the residential development land options available in greater Christchurch right now, Darby said.

“The surrounding investment activity, from the new supermarkets to the motorway upgrades, reflects the depth of confidence in Rolleston’s long-term trajectory - with the town’s attractive lifestyle proposition gathering strength as more residents move there.”

Having been involved in more than $190m of residential development land transactions exceeding $10m in value over the past 18 months, Darby said an increasing volume of both local and out-of-region capital is now targeting greater Christchurch. The city is now entering a compelling phase of its growth cycle, with many of the major public and private investments made over the past 15 years now realised. 

“As growth pressures build across key development corridors, developers are placing growing emphasis on infrastructure certainty and delivery risk. The distinction between land that is simply zoned for future development and sites that are already supported by established public infrastructure is becoming increasingly important,” he said.

“Developers recognise the significant time, cost and risk that can be involved in delivering major private infrastructure upgrades to unlock future growth land and this is making development-ready land highly attractive.”