MINISTER THINKS BUILDING COSTS COMING DOWN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 3, 4 October 1948, Page 4

MINISTER THINKS BUILDING COSTS COMING DOWN

He hoped to publish from now on examples of housing contracts and tenders approved, said the Minister of Rehabilitation, Mr Skinner, speaking at; the quarterly meeting of the. Rehabilitation Council. The examples would cover, on a cost per foot basis, the highest and lowest tenders accepted for houses of approved standard built in different centres under the rehabilitation housing loan scheme. This would enable the public to . be kept informed of trends in house building prices and to make comparisons. These would show that in certain districts houses were being built for an average of 33/- a foot, while in other districts, such as Auckland and Wellington, the costs were much higher. He was of the opinion that building costs were coming down. As an example recent reports from Christchurch showed that a number of tenders for quite suitable homes were under £ISOO. He himself knew, of many ex-servicemen who were getting their homes built Within the rehabilitation loan limits. The 'timber supply position was improving every day, - and. with the exception of certain dressing grades timber was fairly freely available, ' As a result 'restrictions for timber usage were gradually disappearing altogether. The supply of other materials was also improving, except of nails, which were still difficult to obtain, as was also wire of all kinds.