FEWER NEW HOUSES

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 263, 2 August 1941, Page 7

FEWER NEW HOUSES

Review Of New Zealand’s Building Operations

DECREASE ON LAST YEAR

The value of building operations carried out in New Zealand during the year ended March 31, 1941, totalling £11,060,101, showed a decrease of 3,1 per cent., or £358,333, on the 1939-40 total, states the Monthly Abstract of Statistics. New private dwellings decreased iu value by £644,603, compared with 1939-40, but other new buildings and alterations and additions increased by £2370 and £283,900 respectively. New private dwellings for 1940-41 numbered 7147 as against SOB 6 during the previous year. These figures are inclusive of dwellings for the Housing Construction branch of the S tate vances Corporation, numbering 3486 units in 1940-41 and 3859 units in 1939-40. The 3486 units for 1940-41 comprised 2233 single-unit dwellings, 569 double-unit dwellings, eight threeunit dwellings, 16 four-unit dwellings, and six blocks comprising 27 flats. Government Housing Construction dwellings are taken into account from the time when construction is actually begun. Excluding counties and road districts, the number of new dwellings for 1940-41 was 6099, a decrease of 1330 on the record total for the previous year. A feature of the 1940-41 figures was the large number of dwelling-houses, principally Government houses, erected iu the suburban road districts and counties covered by the statistics, particularly Mount Roskill Road District and Hutt County.

Auckland city, with a total of £1,783,007 for 1940-41, occupies the leading position for towns, followed by Wellington city, with a total of £1,123,459. The half-million for value of building operations was exceeded also by Christchurch city, £619,993; Mount Roskill Road District, £576,775: and Lower Hutt City, £550,646. Of the grand total of 7147 new dwellings for 1940-41, 5436 were in the North Island and 1711 in the South Island, showing decreases of 582 and 357 respectively on the previous year's figures. The value of all buildings in the North Island amounted to £8,534,649, and in the South Island to £2,525,452, showing an increase of £57,366 and a decrease of £415.699 respectively.