“WE WANT FARMS.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 457, 19 May 1932, Page 4

“WE WANT FARMS.”

Hundreds Believe the Time is Ripe. INQUIRIES IN CANTERBURY. Rock bottom has been reached in the farm property market, and prospective buyers are busy in various Canterbury districts. The only stipulation is that the price must be justified by present-day returns. “ The most significant indication.” said the head of one city agency, “is that we have on our bpoks about thirty buyers, seeking big properties, mostly for grazing, who are prepared to put down from £SOOO to £15,000. They are the ‘ hard heads,’ who have been waiting for the right time. That time is now. They were men who could afford to defer purchase till they were sure the time was ripe for the investment of their capital.” Another class, by far the most numerous, is made up of men who have a few hundred pounds and are not eligible for relief works. Such men are looking for small holdings. Both town and country workers are included. It is a far better proposition for them than walking the city streets, living on their restricted capital. Then again, there are far more applicants for leases than can be suited. They are men who can put down a half year’s rent, and have enough left for stock. The way this class of business is booming is well illustrated by 'the fact that the agency referred to has employed two additional salesman in the last six weeks. Another man whose land dealings extend over most of Canterbury was also emphatic on the point that the demand was great, but in his experience sales were difficult to put through, mainly on account of the fact that many properties were mortgaged in boom times, and the mortgages are, in consequence, entirely out of proportion to the value of the land at the present time. Values Down by Over 40 Per Cent. “ The prices farmers are getting for their produce now,” he said, “takes us back to the position as it was in 1913. Buyers are quite aware of that, and they want to get the land at a price which will give them a chance to show a fair working profit. -Band values have dropped by over 40 per cent. Hill country which was worth an amount corresponding to £B, £lO, and even £l2 for every ewe carried, now works out at a value of from £4 10s to £5 per ewe The man who buys land at a price which works out at £6 per ewe is looking for trouble. “ In many instances mortgages make it impossible for the land to be sold at present-day values, and the mortgagees hang on, hoping against hope for a rise in values that will make their capital outlay good. Some are accepting 3 per cent on their money instead of 6 per cent. They are prepared to meet the farmer by cutting interst, but cut capital they will not. In consequence, the farmer who wants to sell and get out cannot meet the price of the wouldbe purchaser, who knows that as well as reduced returns, which take him back to the 1913 land values, he has to contend with rates, taxes, and other increased charges which treble the overhead costs of that year. Further, the farmer who is holding his own will not sell at present-day prices. The man who does want to sell is the one who is in trouble.” >