Land Sales Stopped By Speculative Price Advances

Grey River Argus, 11 October 1949, Page 7

Land Sales Stopped By Speculative Price Advances

AUCKLAND, Oct 10.

A report written on September 28 by the secretary of the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales, Mr W. R. Greenwood, in reply to an enquiry made by the Real Estate Institute, of New- Zealand, said:—

“Although four weeks have now elapsed since the New South Wales State Government removed controls from property sales, the market remains in a comatose condition, from which only the slightest sign of revival is apparent.” The report continues: — “The institute was prepared for a brief upward spiral of prices, which, it was anticipated, would quickly return to something approaching normal —an advance on 1939 prices equivalent to the increase in other commodities —when the known available volume of property came on the market.

“This upward spiral did not take place. The market became dead, as sellers’ asked prices in line with those reputed to have obtained in private negotiations during the period of control ,while buyers became most selective and refused to touch anything but the choicest. “Vacant land —home and industrial sites —which had been selling freely at fairly high figures also became unsaleable.”

The president of the institute in Auckland, Mr R. S. Newcombe, has posted copies of the report to all Members of Parliament.

Mr Newcombe’s covering letter adds that “my executive considers that a similar sane attitude would be. adopted in New Zealand if controls were eliminated here.”.