THE PROPERTY MARKET

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27385, 10 May 1950, Page 3

THE PROPERTY MARKET

NORTH OTAGO NEWS

Prices Now Reaching Stable Level “ Properties offering for sale in recent months have certainly shown increased values and it would appear from careful observation that the peak has been reached so far as a sellers’ market is concerned, despite the fact that one or two properties r have quite recently been sold at extraordinarily high prices.” This was the observation of a real estate agent in Oamaru when asked by the Daily Times yesterday to comment on the property market and the effect of the abolition of land sales control. “In each case, where prices have exceeded what might be termed a reasonable value there have been special circumstances,” he added.

These properties, whether old or new, had had some specially attractive feature or there had been two or more buyers specially anxious to acquire the particular property, the agent said. In cases where properties had been offered at auction, there had been few people interested and in one case there were no bids. '■ Nevertheless, the properties have later been sold privately—and indeed, on the whole, the number of properties being sold privately is very considerable,” he said.

*• It may be repeated that, except in a very limited number of sales, the recent amendment ot the Land Sales Act has not led to excessive prices being paid in Oamaru,” he said. “ The considered opinion of quite a number of interested people is that the rule of supply and demand will very soon stabilise values at a figure little higher, if any, than those authorised by the Land Sales Committee.”

In its campaign it increase the standard of day-to-day telephone usage the Post Office has in the last twelve months shown the film “ Telephone Courtesy ” to some 50,000 people.