HOUSEBUILDING

Evening Star, Issue 23665, 27 August 1940, Page 3

HOUSEBUILDING

PRIVATE ACTIVITY SLOWING COMPARISON WITH AUSTRALIA Canadian timber journals interested in the supply of timber to*New Zealand make interesting reading in view of a minor controversy here as to whether private housing is or is not on the wane. Pointing out that the trade from British Columbia in construction timbers for New Zealand dropped to half in the first five months of 1940 as compared with 1939,' the British Columbia ‘ Lumberman ’ goes ou to say: While the New Zealand Ministry of Housing continued to encourage private individuals to borrow money for homo building, activity in this branch of the construction industry has slowed down considerably, due to high prices and a shortage of builders’ hardware and plumbing supplies. The same condition is blamed for retarded activity in commercial building. As far as the Government is concerned the prospective home builder is still welcome at the State Advances Department, the Housing Ministry Laving announced that it would rather lend money to citizens to build their own homes than build rental homes for them. No reduction lias been made in the amount of money available for such loans. Approximately £2,000,000 was returned annually to the department as repayment of principal, and that money would go out again to help people buy their own homes. AUSTRALIAN BUILDING ACTIVE. The Australian position, according to the same journal, is that building has been fajrly active in the various States, but native wood has figured largely in the recent construction jobs, and this state of affairs will probably continue so long as present shipping conditions prevail and domestic woods are able to go on the market at figures so far below anything at which the British Columbia shipper can offer His goods. New Zealand woods-are not universally useful by any means, or, in other words, we have nothing here that can give us strength and lightness over a long span, to name only one necessity. And, again, timber prices for native woods are only in any way competitive here on account of the considerable protection afforded the industry by both imposts and freight changes. The Australian ‘ Timber Journal ’ comments editorially; “ There are many indications that slowly but surely a housing consciousness is being awakened in our midst, and to judge by recent utterances of members of the Federal Government we should now witness'the execution of an ever-increasing- national housing programme within the limits imposed.upon us by the war.” In both Victoria and Queensland greater activity in home construction has been reported, with the majority of houses being erected for private owners