"WANTED TO RENT”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23223, 22 June 1937, Page 5

"WANTED TO RENT”

THE HOUSE SHORTAGE LOCAL POSITION NO EASIER INVESTORS NOT INTERESTED "Wanted to rent, modern bungalow, handy to city,” etc. Newcomers to Dunedin are still finding it an almost hopeless quest. An efficient inquiry system and hours of visits of inspection all' bring the same result, and from all accounts there is no likelihood of an immediate improvement. It has been obvious for a considerable time that the demand is definitely greater than the supply, and a reporter who called on several experienced agents yesterday was told that there is no inducement for builders or investors to be anxious to adopt the letting ot houses as an investment. People who are building nowadays want to sell, and all the blandishments of “ Rent in advance,” “ Careful tenants,” and so on do not persuade the mass of them that they can obtain a satisfactory return from the average bungalow type of house that is most in demand.

Agents are emphatic on that point. People looking for houses to rent have of necessity to be satisfied with homes that they probably would not have considered a few years ago. Dunedin does not appear to be more difficult than any other of the cities in that respect, although the heavy building programme of the past year ur two would suggest that more homes should be available. “ Inquiries for houses to rent come in continuously,” a well-established agent said, “ but it is only very occasionally that there is anything attractive to offer.” There were plenty of buyers for suitable properties, but here, too, the great demand was for the modern bungalow type of house, especially of five rooms. Not many of the bigger homes, costing from £2OOO to £3OOO to build, will bring that value at present, unless for subdivision into flats. The city regulations for flats have been tightened up considerably, but there is undoubtedly a growing interest in this form of investment. “ Ten or 12 years ago it was thought that flat life was just a flash in the pan,” this agent said. “ There were jfrave doubts about their success in Dunedin. Now they have come to stay. There is no question about that, although Dunedin has still a long way to go before it can rival Christchurch as a city of flats.” THE SECTION DIFFICULTY As an indication of the building that would be done if saleable sections were available at a reasonable price, a builder quoted the example of Mornington. “ Until a few years ago that was one of the worst selling districts in Dunedin,” he said; “but the opening up of Mailer street and the bus service via Elgin road have changed all that. There has been a great deal of activity in the sections that were thus made attractive, and to-day houses and sections there are quite a good saleable proposition. It is almost impossible to obtain freehold sections in the city at prices that would justify building for the purposes of renting as an investment.”

If it were possible to build on smaller sections, the position might be different, he added, and his opinion on this point was endorsed by another agent, who maintained that the majority of _ householders did not want big sections. “ There should be precautions that there is plenty of air and light,” he said, “ but the average man does not want a lot of ground to look after Let him build on a section big enough to take his house and allow for a little lawn in the front and a drying green at the back and he is quite satisfied." His point is supported to some extent by the homes in the neighbourhood of M'Bride street, South Dunedin, where the sections average about 10 or 11 poles and are from eight poles (onetwentieth of an acre) upward. “ Homes like that can have their own identities,” he said. “At present it simply does not pay to hand over many city houses to tenants. The land is too dear and the tenants usually do not want it, anyway. There you have the root of the whole problem of house shortage as it is at present.” Incidentally this man added, the city that took his admiration for recent building activity was Invercargill. He was amazed on a recent visit to see the number of new homes, and was impressed by the way in which new streets "'ire being laid out. The houses were of a good, substantial type, and the streets of them all round the city testified to a boom in building that was not over yet.