PROPERTY MARKET

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11737, 8 September 1932, Page 4

PROPERTY MARKET

REVIVAL DURING PAST MONTH DAIRY farms still in urgent demand 'l iic property, iharket is generally considered an infallible barometer of thq progress of- a district,, for it naturally follows that when a demand sets in, sales are made at very, frequent intervals, J.n this connection it is 'Satisfactory to record that during the past month there have been quite a number of sales by Gisborne, agents, of town and farm properties. Several country, and suburban- areas of from 4 acres to .50 acres have changed hands, and in the majority of cases the prices have been very reasonable. AH the subdivisions o.t tlie old Tn ruberu works and. at Kaiteratabi, which range in area from one acre to 40 acres, have now been disposed of. The country property sales included a 40 acre section on the flats, and over 70 acres up the Coast, and one private sale took place of aTo Arai property aggregating some JSO acres. The town properties sold' are mostly of the older type of dwelling, and if naturally followed that thev went at very reasonable f price?.

The difficulty at present is in getting owners to sell, even at what might be termed a very reasonable price. Jlajryfarmers as a rule are fairly well satisfied, and will not dispose of their properties, in some cases, at almost any price. One dairyfarmer on a small property on the flats cleared TIB an acre last year. His area is under 40 acres and he has maintained that average for the past five years. This is typical of quite a number of cases. Naturally, Such people will not sell. Practically, small dairy farms in Poverty Bay cannot be purchased unless an exorbitant sum is given.

Every land agent in the town has a list of men waiting to purchase dairy farms, and in most eases, the men have deposits ranging from £SOO to £'-800. There is no land available for subdivision, and the disturbing factor is that such men are looking in other parts of the Dominion for land to suit their requirements. Within a comparatively recent period, several of these men, having haunted the local land agents' offices m a vain quest, have gone to other parts of the Dominion, and the districtthus loses an invaluable asset in the departure of men who by their industry would add to the wealtn oi Poverty Bay and bring money .directly into Gisborne. The tragedy or trail lies in the tact that within an area of thirty-five miles "from the town, thousands of acres of first-class dairying land are being used ror sheepruns. all privately-owned or Native land.