REAL ESTATE

Evening Star, Issue 21233, 14 October 1932, Page 16

REAL ESTATE

INSTITUTE'S ANNUAL REPORT The annual report of the Otago Branch of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, to ho presented at the annual meeting next Monday, states; — Tho membership remains the same as last year—namely, thirty-four, which is a reduction on that of some years ago. Tho financial position is also much the same as last year’s, the income being about sufficient to meet the necessary expenditure. The real estate agent has, like all other members of the community, been caught in tho financial depression, and has met the full blast of the storm. Two factors necessary for the transaction of real estate business have been lacking—namely, money and confidence. A great many people who before this would have been purchasers, have, through stress of circumstances, had to postpone their operations owing to scarcity of capital, and the bulk of those possessing capital have lacked confidence, and the volume of business transacted during the past year has consequently been small. There has been a very natural tendency for tenants to seek for reduced rents, and this has produced a pronounced demand for houses at low rentals. Rentals of shops and business premises, even where the tenancies are exempt from the scope of the National Expenditure Adjustment Act, reflect tho prevailing trend of events. Tho executive is not prepared to prophesy as to the future, hut there arc grounds for hopefulness, as is evidenced by the pronounced vise in wool values and the recent advance in prices on the Stock Exchange. The drop in interest rates is, of course, reflected in the price of securities and may tend to help tho price of investment properties. Tt can only be hoped that, with the forthcoming sales, will come a rise in wool and other primary products, which in turn will stimulate business of all kinds and prove of general benefit to the dominion. Tho National Expenditure Ad •‘ustnient Act (following on tho first step in the Government's policy of deflation, by reducing civil service salaries) is now in general operation, and it would appear that, generally speaking, mortgagors, landlords, and real estate agents have in their several capacities attempted properly to interpret the spirit of the legislation in question. Owing to the unsettled conditions the examination for associate membership of the Real Estate institute of New Zealand was ant held, hut it 1= hoped i hat a number of candidates will oiler (bis venr.