Plots in the Northlake subdivision ranged in size from 285sqm to 740sqm and sold for between $192,500 and $240,000.
The 220ha subdivision, first proposed by Michaela Ward Meehan in 2013, was endorsed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council at a meeting last week.
Subdivision viewings last month attracted 200 groups.
Interested buyers paid $2000 deposits to secure first pick of sites on Saturday.
Bayleys Wanaka director Mat Andrews said people who bought the sections ranged from first-home buyers to investors.
''Most of the buyers were from the immediate Wanaka region.
''That number was split approximately 70:30 between intended owner-occupiers and investors,'' Mr Andrews said.
He said other buyers came from Otago and Southland, including Invercargill, Queenstown and Dunedin, with three sections sold to ex-patriate New Zealanders.
The sale was the biggest single sale of residential land in the area since the 2004 campaign in which sections in the Peninsula Bay subdivision were snapped up, he said.
He expected construction of houses to begin in October next year.
The Northlake subdivision would include medical and childcare facilities, and 900 properties to be built over the next 10 years, he said.
Queenstown Lakes District Council district plan manager Matthew Paetz said the Northlake development had the potential to address both housing supply and affordability in Wanaka.
However, there is expected to be a shortage of cheaper sections in Wanaka while Northlake and other developments are built.
In June, independent commissioners for the Queenstown Lakes District Council approved the subdivision, after hearing 124 submissions, 85 of which were opposed. The decision was appealed to the Environment Court by 26 submitters from the Appealing Wanaka Inc group.
In August, the Environment Court approved the Northlake subdivision, which on completion will increase the number of houses in Wanaka by a third.
