LAND SALES ACT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 81, 3 October 1944, Page 7

LAND SALES ACT

METHODS OF VALUATION

The. fact that the Land Sales Acthas, to a great, .extent, curbed the tendency towards soaring prices is all to the good, but there are various inconsistencies in the present method of operation which cause grave concern to the institute and to the public" comments Mr. R. A. Large, president of the Wellington''branth t)f the "Real ■£S e Institute, in his annual report. 'The institute would like to see some more definite and universal method of valuation adopted, and unavoidable delay cut as short as possible. Certain classes of property could well be exempt from the operation of the Act, and it is becoming increasingly noticeable that in some respects the Act has entirely failed to achieve its object. It is not helping returned soldiers and it is tending to aggravate the housing shortage, mainly because sellers are unwilling to offer their properties on account of the uncertainty and delay. Particularly is this noticeable in farms. Also the operation of the Act is having a I tendency towards increasing the price asked by vendors. As far as the institute is concerned, there has also been a noticeable trend towards vendors selling privately. On the wholej it i& felt that real estate agents have made an honest effort to assist the operation of the Act, even though it has increased their business difficulties considerably."