Home Building Increases

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30470, 18 June 1964, Page 1

Home Building Increases

The first increase in cottage and flats building in Canterbury for years had occurred in recent months, said the district superintendent of the Department of labour (Mr C. ,P. Collins) yesterday.

The number of building tradesmen employed in cottage and flats building in Canterbury, he said, had in creased by 4 per cent between October, 1963, and April this year. “This is the first time that cottage and flats building in Canterbury has recovered anv of the ground it has lost" he said “The numbei of building tradesmen employed on cottages and flats in the province increased from 1296 in October last yeai to 1353 in April." A Christchurch cottage builder yesterday said that 18 months ago he had only two or three houses ahead of him to build. Today, he said, he had reached the stage where he had 21 houses to build, and possibly more. At the moment he had more houses than he could handle The builder said he had a staff of four carpenters and one builder’s labourer.

The houses he was building were mostly in the £3OOO bracket For each house built said the cottage builder, he covered wages, plus a profit of £2OO. The builder said that though business had, picked up considerably from the lull of 18 months ago, cottage building in Christchurch had not reached anywhere near the boom proportions of about three years ago. But he would describe cottage building in Christchurch' today as a definite improvement on 18 months ago. Mr Collins said that com mercial building in Canterbury had in recent months showed its first halt for some years. “The number of building tradesmen working on com mercial building in Canter bury has declined from 1352 in October last year to 1273 in April this year,” he said Mr Collins said his figures for both cottage and com mercial building included all types of building tradesmen Mr ,Collins said that on several of the large com mercial jobs around Christ church only foundation work was being carried out which did not require a great number of workmen.

But when these buildings reached more advanced stages, he said, the number of building tradesmen required would 'increase considerably. These

buildings included the Bank of New Zealand in the Square, the Reserve Bank building in Hereford street and Union House at the corner of Cashel and Liverpool streets.