Mr Hammond was yesterday picked from among more than 100,000 entrants, winning a four-bedroom holiday home at North Shores, near Wallaroo.

When contacted by The Advertiser's marketing director Dan Demaria and SAID Housing Group managing director Victor Said yesterday, Mr Hammond was initially in disbelief.

"You have got to be joking . . . I don't even have a house," he said.

"I can't stand still – I am just walking around and I am not supposed to be. I had knee surgery on Friday."

Mr Hammond will travel to Kadina to be with his family over Christmas, but the possibility of staying longer is being talked about. "My brothers and sisters all live in Kadina, and I went to school in Kadina," he said.

"(My fiancee) has been saying she wants to move up there, so I told her we can move up there if she finds me a job. I have done my bit."

Mr Said, whose company builds Rivergum Homes, said the Rivergum Home promotion was both successful and timely.

"Affordable housing is becoming quite an issue for the community and a new home is something to which everyone aspires," he said.

"Everyone dreams of winning their own home."