MORTGAGE BURDEN

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 23, 11 February 1937, Page 6

MORTGAGE BURDEN

Presp Association.)

33,000 Applications For Relief H.B. AGGREGATE 1267

(By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, Last Night. A multitude of people in New Zealand are seeking relief from the burden oi mortgage debt, both on farms and urban properties. This was disclosed to-day by the Attorney-General (Hon. H. G. R. Mason) who said in an interview that. the total number of applications under the provislons of tho Mortgagors 'and Lessees Rehabilitation Act oi last year for the adjustment of - jmortgage obligations on rural and mrban properties was 33,793 when the Iperiod for" making application ended on ijanuary 31. "An analysis of the returns has not |yet been made in respect of the differ'ent kinds of properties for which appli- , cation for a measure of relief has been made," said Mr. Mason. "Some of the district tot'als, however, are interesting as showing the different degrees of mortgage embarrassment in the maia centrea of population. "Auckland, with the largest metropolitan and provincial population, leads with 5426 applications. Wellington comes next with " 3663, closely f ollowed by Christchurch with "3587. Some people may see evidence of the traditional financial cautiousness in the returns from Dunedin. That shrewd centre's total is only 666 applications." 'Farthor south the aggregate is somewhat higher, the Invercargill returns being 1009." ; The Minister mentioned that other icentres with. over 1000 applicants each were Wanganui 1037, Palmerston North 1034, Gisborne' 1017. Other centres well up in lesser aggregates were Timaru, with 930 aplieations, Lower Hutt (mostly house mortgages) " 872, Hamiltoh (including Waikato, with many dairy farms) 864, New Plymouth 852, Napier 719. The applications registered in Masterton totalled 619. In the King Country there were 447 applications from the Te Kuiti district and 374 from- Taumarunui. The aggregate for Hawke's Bay was 1267, including Napier-'s 719 and- Hastings ' 548. In the Bay of Plenty were 161 applications from' Tauranga, 89 from Whakatane and. 68 from Opotiki. Rotorua 's . applicants totalled 197. Although. Pukekohe for a long time. had been generally looked upon as an exceptionally prosperous district, its applications totalled'533,' compared with only 392 from Whangarei, in the eentre of North Auckland. Dargaville '3 total was 327. in tho, northern district of the South Island Blenheim heads the list with 653 applidations, Nelson being next with 462. The applications from the West Ooast were relatively moderate, these being Westport 113, Greymouth 81, Hokitika 46. Farther south on the East Coast and North Canterbury, Ashburton made 557 applications, 'Rangiora 551, Oamaru 498. "The total for the Dominion is neither very high nor very low," said the Minister. "It is near the aggregate one would have expected in the cir cumstances. It must not be overlooked that many of the applications will not cause a great deal of .trouble to the various Adjustment Commissions; indeed, many voluntary settlements have been effected already, and it is reasonable ■ to anticipate that, when mortgagees and mortgagors learn what the generai basis of adjustment is in respect of interest rates, hundreds of cases will be settled, either voluntarily or without much difficulty or delay. The mortgage problem should be well on the "way to a satisfactory solution by ihe end of this year, although it is likely that some clearing-up work will have to 'be done by the Commissions for some time to come. "Every opportunity was given for the submission of an application for mortgage relief within the prescribed period. The printing department had a colossal task in preparing the forms. As a matter of fact, if these forms were laid flat on top of one another, the. peak would be higher than the giant towsr at the Titahi radio statioot*'