HOUSE-BUILDING IN N.Z.

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27367, 4 June 1954, Page 7

HOUSE-BUILDING IN N.Z.

RECORD ESTABLISHED LAST YEAR MINISTER ANNOUNCES DETAILS (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 3. A record 16,700 houses were built during the year ended March 31. The previous highest total was 16,400 in 1950-51. Announcing this, the Minister of Housing (Mr W. Sullivan) said that half these houses were either built or financed by the Government. The State Advances Corporation provided £8,000,000 in loans for financing new houses and £7,000,000 for buying houses already built. The number of State houses sold to tenants had reached £9221 and the sale of these houses had realised £19,824,080. In the last financial year, the Government set aside £13,000,000 for housing construction, but spent only £10.600,000.

“Housing is probably the most difficult Government activity,” the Minister said. “For as long as I can remember, housing expenditure has fluctuated considerably above and below the amount voted. “Building output is not completely predictable because of the time lag in completing contracts, weather, variations in the labour force and a host of minor factors.”

Mr Sullivan said the difficulty .in forecasting expenditure was indicated by the fact that when he took over housing last September it appeared at that stage that the vote would be overspent.

“Last year, we planned to spend £13,000,000 on ; the direct# building of State houses, departmental houses, pre-cuts and defence housing. “This may have been a trifle generous, as the output of State houses is governed by the number of men working on State building. “Though we were short of the target expenditure under the housing construction vote, the Government actually spent more on housing than ever before, both in direct building and in financing home building.”