Forty-four community houses in Queenstown are on track for completion by the end of the year.
Three companies are building the houses at the Shotover Country subdivision for the Queenstown Lakes Community Trust.
Trust executive officer Julie Scott said prices ranged from $445,000 for a two-bedroom home to $565,000 for a four-bedroom home.
"With the very intense property market boom this district is currently in, we're delighted to be able to build good quality homes which are well below the average price most entry-level buyers face.''
Three-quarters of the properties had been sold under the trust's Shared Ownership programme, which helped lower-income households buy their first home.
The buyers, who were mostly young families, would provide an average of 70% of their property's value through a deposit and mortgage, while the trust provided the balance but retained co-ownership.
Qualifying households had to meet residency, income and minimum deposit criteria, Ms Scott said.
Of the 81 households the trust had assisted through shared ownership since 2008, 34 had gone on to own their properties outright.
The remaining properties would be rented to clients under trust programmes designed to move them "along the housing continuum'' towards independence.
The $15million development is the trust's biggest to date.
It was given the land by Shotover Country developers Sharyn and Grant Stalker as part of a community housing contribution negotiated during the plan change process.
The groundwork was funded by a Community Trust of Southland loan and the building stage is being funded by a commercial bank loan.
The three building companies are Breen Construction, Modus Construct and Rilean Construction.
