PROPERTY VALUES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 14, 12 October 1943, Page 4

PROPERTY VALUES

Sir, —The question of property values is raised in an acute form and the special figures given in August Abstract, of Statistics covering seven months in each of the years 1939-1943 are in use as political cax)ital. The Government Statistician showed that, compared with 1939, there was an increase of 11.2 per cent in number of town transactions and one of 55.7 per ccnt in consideration. Rural property sales increased by 1.4 per cent and consideration by 24.2 per ccnt. Why compare w'ith 1939 ? Ranging from 1939 average considerations per town property sold over equivalent seven monthly periods were £397, £f>B4, £692, £699 and £830. Prior to the period taken by the Government Statistician the. November Abstracts given seven months' consideration for sales of town properties and these yielded £640 in 1939-40, £644 in 1938-39 and £652 'in 1937, so it will be seen that even with regard to town properties, 1939 (£597) was lower than in 1937-38 (£652). Taking pre-slump values, in 192728 average consideration was £694, and in 1928-29, £686. Strangely, the values principally attacked are rural. During the seven months period reviewed by the Statistician average considerations for rural properties transferred from 1939 to 1943 were '£1498, £1721, £1531, £1399 and £1835. Areas sold affect the figures. Seven months' rural "considerations," given in November 1939 Abstracts, show an average of £1729, and in 1938 the figure was £1811. Going back to p re-slump years, the average consideration on rural transfers was £18 !5 in 1927-28 and £1968 in 1928-29. In this connection it-is worth noting that the acre considered in the £1835 of. 1943 is a much more highly improved acre than that of 1928-29. Government valuations show rural valuations less every year by many millions, all fresh improvements being more than lost in decreasing unimproved values. , Since 1929 cap'ital value of counties has dropped, from to £335,891,519, but the unimproved value content of this lias dropped, with increasing momentum, from £217.452,287 to £162,388,220', losing over £55 millions in 14 years. Apparently this is not enough and special legislation is required to force values lower still. Yours etc., A. E. ROBINSON".