It started with a hammer, and it finished with one.
The eighth annual Charity House Auction programme began earlier this year with Otago Polytechnic carpentry students building three new homes, which were auctioned in Dunedin on Saturday, raising $75,000 for the United Way charity.
About 100 people attended the auction.
One of the prefabricated houses was a 130sq m, four-bedroom house, fully fitted out, completed with products and labour supplied by more than 20 local companies.
Bidding on the house was fierce, and was eventually won by a young couple from Waiwera South, who paid $195,000.
New owners Mark and Madeline Anderson said they bought the house as accommodation for staff working on their dairy farm.
''It's going to be a great house for them,'' Mr Anderson said.
A 120sq m three-bedroom house, and a 130sq m four-bedroom house, both without fittings or furnishings, also went under the hammer of auctioneer Warwick Grimmer for $135,500 and $157,500, respectively.
Auction organiser Mark Stevens said the bids were higher this year compared with previous years.
''More people registered, there was more competition, and the prices were higher. That's brilliant.''
