HOUSING POLICY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22976, 2 March 1938, Page 18

HOUSING POLICY

EFFECTS ON BUILDING MR. W. R. FEE'S CONTENTIONS •*» MARKED INCREASE IN COSTS " 1 nm sorry if the remarks made by me in my presidential address at the annual meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce regarding the Government's housing policy have been taken by Mr. James Fletcher, managing director of the Fletcher Construction Company, Limited, as a reflection on the contractors engaged in the erection of Government houses, for nothing could bo further from tho truth," said Mr. W. R. Fee, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, yesterday. " My remarks were directed at tho housing policy of the Government and did not involve the contractors in any way. No purpose would bo served by my attempting categorically to answer the questions asked by Mr. Fletcher, but from his questions I have to assume that he wishes the public to believe that there has been no disorganisation of the house-building industry and that, the cost of house construction has not risen since the Government's housing policy was put into operation. Change In Position "From the moment the Government's policy was announced, private housebuilding construction became almost stagnant, for people generally got the impression either rightly or wrongly that houses were to be made available to them at a very low cost and at very low rentals," Mr. Fee stated. "This had the natural effect of causing people who desired houses to wait for the gifts that were in due course to come from the State and it became almost impossible to sell existing houses. " The natural result of the eventual disappointment was a rush back by house-seekers to private builders, but in the meantime the whole position of house construction had changed. Many private bu lders for the time being had been compelled to stand by and when their services were again sought their employees had to a great extent been compelled to seek work on Government houses, for where elso did the 3700 employees engaged on this work come from ? Finance Difficulty " The cost of building construction had in the meantime risen by leaps and bounds," he continued, "and- houseseekers found the greatest difficulty in financing the erection of houses, for mortgagees had received a severe lesson in previous years and did not desire to have that experience repeated. The result of all this was that house-seekers again turned to existing houses, which became very saleable owing to their cheapness as compared with the increased cost of the erection of new dwellings, but this avenue of relief was soon to be taken away from them, owing to the restrictive provisions of the Fair Rents Act regarding possession. " Prior to the start of tho Government housing policy, cottages were being erected at as low a cost as 8s od a foot, and anything above 10s a foot was considered a high price, Mr. I' ee added. " To-day the price asked is nearer £1 a foot and in some cases even more The cost of painting ordinary bungalows was £l6 to £2O before the introduction of the Government s policy To-day the same class of house costs £3O or more and other expenses incideivtal to_ houses have gone .up in like proportion."