BUILDING TRADE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19198, 3 January 1928, Page 5

BUILDING TRADE.

SLACKNESS AND DEPRES SION.

1927 A BAD YEAR,

No trade is more susceptible to the effects of a general economic depression than the building industry, and it is not surprising, therefore, to note that the value of the work authorised by the City Council last year showed a decrease of nearly 30 per cent, ou the total for 1926. Figures are not available for adjacent boroughs and counties, but it i 6 doubtful whether building in the suburbs has shown such a great decline. Tho trade has been a* a standstill in the two seaside boroughs, while in Ricearton, parts of the \)airaairi County and lavoured localities in the. Heathcote County, contractors for small shops and dwellings have not felt tho slump so badly as those who confine their attention to the big undertakings, of which there have been all too few in the past year. So sustained has been the activity in the house-building line in recent years that the supply has overtaken the demand, and homes built for sale are frequently left for months on the hands of the builder. The granting of a number of loaus under the City Council's housing scheme was responsible for a fillip, particularly in Spreydon, which seems to bo favoured for this class of dwelling. Many builders were prepared to undertake the erection of a cheaper type of house than the £750 homes built on Council loans, but there was apparently no great demand for such places. Tho Council went exhaustively into the question, and the City Engineer's department prepared a report setting forth the costs of modest houses of various types.

Business Area. In the inner area of the City only four or five substantial jobs have been commenced during the year. These include the new premises at the corner of Cashel and Liverpool streets for tho New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.. Ltd. (£14,000), offices for the National Insurance Company in Hereford street (£15.000), new quarters for the Dunlop Rubber Company at tlie corner of Madras and Lichfield streets (£10,500). and rebuilding of Fuller's Opera House (£30,000). In addition there have # been numerous contracts for extensions and alterations, including that for the New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative Association of Canterbury, Ltd. Outside the inner area of the Central Ward a new Roman Catholic Sohoo] in Ferry road, additions to the Girls' High School, a grandstand at Lancaster Park, and extensions to tne premises of Messrs Stacey and Hawker aro among the undertakings which required the greatest outlay. A new Bishopscourt has been built, and St. George's Hospital and the Municipal Concert Hall will soon be opened, while a new wing has been added to Lewisham Hospital. Work has been commenced on the new railway • orkshops at Aldington, for which, of course, no permit was needed. The building by-laws have been thoroughly overhauled and re-drafted, and the City Council will probably adopt them in the amended form, after they have been before the By-laws Committee.

In 1926, the Council issued permits for the construction of 725 dwellings, equal to two a day; while the total in 1&27 was §5 per cent, lower. Details for the year just ended are as follows: Dwels. Value.

1926 and 1927 Compared. The value of buildings authorised by the Council in 1927 was as follows, figures for 1926 being also given for pur-

.654,817 915.584 The central area of the Inner Ward, St. Albans and Spreydon, had the highest totals in 1927.

January ... 39 28,925 February ... 40 30,305 March' ... 46 36,135 April ... 31 23,402 May ... 41 31.320 Juno ... 44 ■ 31,0OD July ... 55 37.450 Aupist ... 49 35.9S2 September ... 43 34.020 October ... 58 43.450 ■November ... 55 4r,497 December ... 26 25 691

noses of comparison:— 1927 > 1926 January ... 35,798 G0,8C1 February ... 46,397 90,530 March ... 77,319 78,316 April ... 32,474 85,991 May ... 49,220 110,874 June ... 47,428 89 604 July ... 49,772 71,374 August ... 49,573 66,047 September ... 93.092 72,259 October ... 73,612 88.6*26 November ... 64,657 43,989 December ... 36,475 52,113