"TO LET."

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2007, 14 March 1914, Page 6

"TO LET."

SCARCITY.OP EMPTY HOUSES;

AND A GROWING DEMAND.

WHAT HOUSE AGENTS SAY.

For sjx months past there have beon unmistakable- signs -that prosperous times wore duo and.coming to Wellington. For three or four years past tho city has. been what land and estate agents term "quiet," and quiet in tho city means something more in the suburbs. Still, though AVellington was overbuilt both in tho suburbs and tho city, .matters never became very ■bad. ' Tho people, who felt it most severely wero those who had ventured into land speculations in tho suburb's in, tho hops that tho "boom" would ■ continue- long enough for them to got out with doublo .the amount'.of money put , in. It was inevitable—some six or seven.years ago—that somo peoplo must be left lamenting, and it is thosepeople' who. doubtless felt tho pinch when quiet "times descended oil tho real estate market. •• -.-■■• ~ ' ■ Our attention has been drawn to the state of tho property market of "■£<>•' day,.by. a .business man' who came.up from Ohristchurch under an assurance that ho would have, no difficulty in getting a-fivo-or uix-roomed house in Wellington at a. rental not exceeding 255. per week. , .On arriving. hero.ho found: that he could ' not- get .an up-to-date .live or . six-roomed hoiise"for< ; 2ss. lie was desirous at almost any tost oi getting a house, ho tramped the streets and inspected, a few |o-Lets" ( - that were found, jo bo quito out of the ._ 'question.. .Desperate, ho sent for his wife..to 'offer 30s. for a house that had \ been offered to let at 355., only to find ■.' that it had been let at the latter figu'rb, • arid" sever hi • other applicants had Been.."turned down." As ' ; this was-a'rather,drastic .change, from ■ the condition of things which existed • in, Wellington six months,ago, some inquifi.es/; .were madoV.ijinp'ng tho;,; land, agents in ,tpwn as to, what, exactl£.was tho position. ■ People Coming in Fast. "To begin 'with," "said ono- leading :.'. house 'agent,,,''thero ;aro no,; good four, five, or six : ropmcd houses to let-in the city, pi , 'in aiiyof the best suburbs. / You might get one here and thero by chance-^by' knowing/that people were getting out beforehand—;but there are none'of the class that I'would care to . recommend V friend'to Herd is our'lis't—'only a-dozen most of them either old houses or situated in queer localities—sometimes both. ■ No, people have como into AVellington very fast lately,, and there are no houses of the class mentioned; to be had. A good many of the new people are from Auckland, where things are not •. so good as .they. were. . "As. far as other.-hoitses aro con- , corned —wo have a few eight, nine, and ten-roomed. houses on our books, but even thoy are scarce, and are commanding good rents. Things are.certainly on tho turn in 'Wellington." Tha Turn of the Tide.' "Yes, it is quito true," stated another reputable house agent in reply to.a' query anent the'scarcity of small houses: to be let. ' "Indeed,, they are practically unprocurable—l refer to the five or six-roomed house in town for 255.; a.-week,-or.on a twopenny tramway section from the Post Office at £1. "It has been improving steadily for some months past; and after a quiet time at Christmas a strong rush for houses set in, and it is still on. Evon threo sections away from town good fivo or six-roomed houses are at a premium. . A /year ago our list of places to let occupied two full pages—r now it does not occupy a' quarter of st page—and tho demand is still keen." Higher Rents To Be. "Does not this mean that the builder will be active in the land?" was asked. "Yes^—that will como later. Rents are going to increase in Wellington, but they are not yet high enough to ' tempt the building speculator to com- . menco operations. Thero are , two things that will keep him in check for a bit—the fairly "high price required for blocks of land in the suburbs; and • the , ever-increasing cost building. One can .see that tho rents will rise, tifnd having risen to a height that justifies the investor in'putting his money into new house property, another era. of house-building mil commence in Wellington. There is no mistake that the tide has turned in Wellington." , Crowing Pains, : "The demand is keen enough—but the supply is deficient." said a mid-city agent. "If you could give me thirty ■ :fivo or six-roomed houses . to-morrow morning I would have a tenant for each {iy to-morrow evening They are very' scarce. -.'We have a few away out'on a fourpenny section that aro difficult to let, but the tram fares explain that readily enough. During the present year—over sineo tho !hi/lidays—thero -las been an extraordinary 'demand. AVellington is going- to ;bogin and: grow again."-' ' > K ■ ■'■'- ■> v'"- -■■ ■ • '•''