BUILDING COSTS

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25440, 11 March 1948, Page 8

BUILDING COSTS

DECLINE PREDICTED BY MR SKINNER RELATION TO PURCHASING POWER <P.A.) WELLINGTON, March 10. “Rising building costs do not seem to have prevented a spectacular rise in the number of people owning their own homes,” said the Minister of Rehabilitation (Mr C. F. Skinner) at Kaitaia last night. Census figures for the four cities showed that the number of owner-occupied dwellings rose from 67.394 in 1936 to 92.379 in 1945. The Minister said he had been attacked in many newspapers since making a statement in Auckland last month that the rehabilitation loan of £l5OO was barely sufficient to finance the building of a house to-day. That was true, but so far the average rehabilitation building loan approved was £1424, which was well within the loan limit. This showed that throughout the Dominion as a whole most Xormer servicemen were able to meet at least their minimum housing requirements with rehabilitation assistance.

Mr Skinner claimed that the workers purchasing power, at least in relation to building, had more than kept pace with rising costs. It was not particularly profitable to compare to-day's building costs with those of earlier periods The wages of those engaged in the building industry, including workers producing building materials, L lsen to reasonabl e levels, but that had been only one factor in costa. One of the biggest factors was a sbe adtly rising standard of living P e °Pl e had a right to expect, .fittings and amenities taken for granted in a modern house were not ureamt of. if obtainable, in the past, ine important factor at present was a great excess of demand over suoP ly * . Yf as confident that as supplv overtook the demand, which it would steadilv do. and when builders found contracts a little harder to get. cosls would find themselves on the downward path again. They would never again reach the levels of, say, a generation ago, but would certainly fall be tow to-day’s Peak. Already, said rne Minister, he had seen contracts come m at under 30s a square foot me stabilising tendency would be assisted by maintaining rehabilitation Duuding loans at the present figure.