LAND VALUES

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 75, 25 September 1914, Page 8

LAND VALUES

IN HOBSON-STREET OBJECTIONS BEFORE ASSESSMENT COURT Four objections to Government valuations of properties in Hobson-street were heard before the Assessment Court today. Mr. W. G. Riddell. S.M., presided, and with him as assessors were Mr. H. E. Leighton (for the Government) and Mr. T. Dwan (for the objectors). The sections in question were No. 143 (Brandon Estate), present capital valuation £2095, No. 144 (Brandon Estate) £2510, No. 151 (Miles Estate) £6025, No. 145 (Miss Josephs's Estate) £2930. Mr. A. de B. Brandon appeared in support of the objections, and Mi". M. Myers for the Valuation Department. Air. Brandon explained that he proposed to call general evidence to show that Hobson-street; was purely a residential street and there had been no sales since the last valuation to justify any increases, and further that there was a tendency for values to decrease in the neighbourhood. Charles James Stanton. Harcourt, land agent, said that Hobson-street was one time looked upon as a very fine street to live in, owing to its being exclusive, but it was now occupied by a large number of comparatively small owneis. There were a number of boarding houses there. Mr. Brandon: Are there any other drawbacks ? Witness : The smoke and nuisance from the railway station. Proceeding, the witness stated that the smoke, dust, and smuts got into the houses and spoilt the furniture, carpets, and fittings. He lived there himselt and could speak from experience. In 1903 or 1904 the Pharazyn Estate, on the west end of the north side, was sold for £25 a foot, and further south Mr. Duncan's property was sold at £29 15s a foot. Dr. Newman's property, 40ft by 100 ft, had been for sale tor eighteen months at £2750. The house was built in 1907 at a cost of about £1300, and had been offered to let for the past nine months at £4 a week unfurnished. There had been an offer of £3 a week. In the witness's opinion Hobson-street was nothing more than a residential street, and would never become a manufacturing street. Mr. Myers : We don't suggest that. Witness, continuing, stated that the census returns showed that the average rental obtained for a ten-Toomed residence in Wellington North was £2 Is 4d per week, or £107 12s 9d per annum. This was the gross return. Hobsonstreet was, coming down to the average. As to the Brandon Estate occupied by Mrs. Larnach, which was 72ft by 129 ft, witness estimated that, if it were put up for sale a reasonable price would be £22 a foot. He considered that a fair price for the other Brandon property, 67ft by 124 ft to 131 ft, with a right-of-way, would be £21 a foot, while a fair price for the Joseph's Estate, 63ft by 154 ft, would be £24 a fooot. The Miles property as a whole was valued at £3000, and if subdivided by a. speculator and sold would probably fetch a total of £3600. To Mr. Myers : There had been little or no market for land, in Hobson-street for the past five or six years. The top value was in 1905, but prices had gone back since then. Mr. Myers then submitted the following comparative table of the 1906 and present valuations of the properties concerned, which were as follows :—Brandon's property, No. 143, 1906, capital value £1940, unimproved value £1440, improvements £500; present valuation £2095, £1780, £315. Brandon's property, No. 144, 1906, £2380, £1380, £1000; present, £2510, £1685, £825. Miles's property, No. 151, 1906, £5300, £2700, £2600; present, £6025, £3765, £2260. Miss Joseph's property, No. 145, 1906, £3725, £1725, £2000; present, £2930, £1695, £1235. It was explained that the decrease in the present valuations of, Miss Joseph's estate was due to the fact that six feet had • been taken off the property for a right-of-way. . The President, after consultation with the assessors, announced that the Court considered the evidence was not sufficient to justify interference with the Government valuation, made by the Government Valuer, and tho valuations would be sustained. Three objections were lodged by Mrs. S. Stevenson to the valuations of sections on Thorndon-quay, and, after hearing the evidence, the Court reduced the capital value of one section from £1520 to £1450 (a decrease of £70), the second from £1100 to £1050 (a decrease of £50), and the third from £1085 to £1035 (a decrease of £50). Mr. Brandon appeared for the objector. BUSINESS AREA VALUATIONS. After the luncheon adjournment the hearing was resumed of the objections raided to the valuations in fifty-five corporation leases and freehold properties extending from the Town Hall to Levin and Company, bounded by the sea oa one hand and Lambton-quay and Willisstreet on the other. For the objectors Mr. C. P. Skerrett, K.C., with Mr. R. H. Tripp, appeared for the objectors, and Mr. M. Myers represented the Valuation Depai-tment. When the objections were before the Court last week Mr. Skerrett explained that he and Mr. Tripp represented ■ two classes of objectors — the first class, the more numerous one, consisting of lessees of the City Corporation and the second class consisting of freeholders who had valuable business premises on their land. Further evidence was heard on behalf of the objectors to show that there had been a fall in city values. John Guthrio Wood Aitken, an exMayor of the city, who stated he had been in business tor many years, stated that, in his experience, city values had fallen since 1906. A building at the corner of Brandon-street and Custom-house-Quay, owned by his firm, used to produce a yearly rental of £350, but in 1908 (when the bottom fell out of the American money market) the rent had fallen £100, and it had not been possible to get more since. In his opinion, the general standard of rents in the business area was lower than in 1906. Buildings were more costly to erect, although there had. not been much variation in interest. (Proceeding.)