TWO & A-HALF MILLIONS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2216, 31 July 1914, Page 8

TWO & A-HALF MILLIONS

i , r . — INCREASE IN CITY'S VALUE ■ /After a considerable delay, occasioned by- the exhaustivo nature of the work dono on this -occasion, the total, value o£ property m Wellington' City to-day has-been duly assessed,*iand were made available by the. VahierGeneral (Mr. F. W. Flanagan) yesterday .- The: value of tho rateable property in Wellington as compared with what it was .eight years ago shows ,a rise _of two _and_ a half, million pounds sterling, which is : a big increase for a ;cityi whioh : : his : now'experienced three or four very .quiet- years. But as the valuations-generally are based on price? '.tlmt have 'been paid. for the properties concerned or those adjacent to them (with a, liberal discount allowed off such prices), tho total valuation cannot be. very far removed from the intrinsic, value of property in Wellington. A good •many objections have been received by th'e .Department, but the majority of these will be adjusted without the" necessity jof going before the Assessment Court.;, ' .- ,V : . . The valuation figures, compared .with' ; those-for 1906, are as under ;— .' '"" ' Capital TJnimprovei Improve- - 'i - Value. Value. mentis £ ■£- .1914 16,006,125 . 9,380,767 6,625,358 • '; '1906 ...... 13,522,307 8,-109.812 ,'5,112,495 •■'.lncrease 2;483,818 ' ■ ,970,955 -1, • i., An. interesting comparison may be made* with the Auckland valuations of. 1907 and 1912. They are as follow:— ■ ■. ' Capital Unimproved ■. ' ■ ■'■; ' Value. Value.-- menfcs, £ £ £ : 14,291,741 -9,160,719 5.131,022 :j". >8,642,033 4,974,648 . 3,667,385' ■ . . . -'Increase. 5,649,708 • 4,186,071 ' 1,463,637

Tliese two tables show that during the interval between valuations in Auckland tho unimproved value grew enormously almost doubling, -whereas in Wellington theincrease, lms been much'less marked. ..This is easily, seen to. bo duo to. the'fact that: in '1906 Wellington":wasr in-'the midst of a land boom, from which it has since recovered. The value; of the im-provements,-on-the other hand, has showiva_ma : rked.increaso in. Wellington; Tho' city rates are struck upon the Government valuation; but as .the Assessment Court is not likely to sit until well: 011 towards tho end of August, and after that the valuation rolls have to;be. : checked, there is no prospect of being able to proceed with tho issue of the rate-demands for at least a month to come. Indeed it would, not surprise anyone in tho. Town Hall if the rato demands were not ready by the/end of October. ■ /