HOUSE SHORTAGE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10612, 10 June 1920, Page 5

HOUSE SHORTAGE

BUILDING TRADE BRISKER

LARGE NUMBER OF RESIDENCES UNDER CON STR U CTIO N.

That there in ap acute shortage of houses is made apparent by the number of applications that come before the Magistrate's ‘Court each day ou which civil sittings are held, for possession of premises. . On Tuesday a magistrate was engaged practically all day hearing cases where persons, iu order to get a homo for themselves, had purchased premises, and were unable to enter mlu possession on account of the present occupants being unable to procure another house for the accommodation of their respective wives and families. To-day upwards of twenty applications for piosseosiou of premises are set down for hearing. In order to ascertain what the position was iu Wellington and suburbs ill respect to tho building trade gonerally, a ‘‘Times” reporter made inquiries yesterday. TIMBER, SUPPLIES.

Tho head of the. largest timberimporting linn in the city stated that timber (supplies were a little better than they had been for some tinio past.. Ibis position, he said, was duo .to the fact that, shipments of rimu (red pine) had arrived from the West ,Count. This was known, as 0.8. (ordinary building) timber, -which was most extensively used in house construction. Having recently visited tho West Coast, ho was in a position to say that there were large quantities of red pine timber available, but that the mills had been unable to secure shipping space to export'd. Tho difficulty that existed was the shortage of dry timber for flooring and other parts of a building. The “yards” wore ahlo to supply dry rimu for match-lining, hut matai and totara wore extremely short. Tho demand for matai was not great, and totura was in a similar position when compared with rimu, but the shortage was sufficient to hold up a building which was under construction.

For the period between Christmas and May there was an acute shortage of timber, and as a consequence nearly all the dry timber in the “yards’' was sent out. and it will ho some time before tl ,> stocks are replenished. A little ic hold, and it is being reserved for buildings in the city, and no country orders are being accepted in the meantime. About 90 per cent, of the nraii timber comes from the West Coast, and all the matai and totara from the North Island. BUILDING BRISK. ‘Acs, the building trade is very brisk at present, and is likely' to continue so for sonto time,” said another merchant in reply to an inquiry. “English goods arc coming, forward much better, and there is a fain quantity of roofing-iron procurable, hut a shortage of slates. Tho manager of that department of our firm is at present in England, and advice has been received from him that ho .has purchased a largo quantity of slates, but that is no indication of when they will arrive in New (Zealand, as shipping space is so hard to procure. Iron and brass furnishings are coming forward fairly -well, and if shipping was obtainable there is every reason for believing that stocks would greatly feel tho benefit and eventually when tho supply overtook tho demand) tiho .prices would drop. The importation of porcelain baths is diflieult. Jly firm is obtaining these from England, Australia and America, but the position in Australia is ’that it will he at least, three months before tho manufacturers will ho able to catch up with the orders now in hand, while porcelain baths arc practically unprocurable front Eng-, land. America was therefore 'the only source of supply, and shipments from there are coming forward at intervals. It is only a matter of time when England will ho able to supply the demand for goods, and thaiij day, in my reunion, is not far distant. The exchange on the American dollar will then go Hp, but I have every confidence_ that the manufacturers of Great Britain will he in sucih a position that they will he able to combat any competition from putside countries. Prices are bound to tail to some extent when the demand is caught up with, hut high prices must rule for some time before that takes place!'-" MUNICIPAL HOUSES.

At Northland the building of the municipal cottages is now going on upa.co . Tho supply of material was a cause of delay, but sufficient quantities are now available. Altogether seven houses are in various stages of completion—two being almost finished —and the foundations are being prepared for the erection of more. Iho cement shortage is not so acute as it was, and the council is hong supplied with its share, and altogether, it is stated tho prospects are much brighter. bailway cottages. At Kuiwarra a number of cottages aro nearing completion. They aro being constructed fox’ the Railway Department. A prominent business man said: "Those railway houses arc not much to looh at. A schoolboy cpuld have prepared the plans, if not better ones. The cottages arc placed anywhere on the hillside at any old angle, close together, and would dp credit as North - American bnekblocks ‘shacks.’ but they will serve the purpose of covering and sheltering some family, so tho community ought to be thankful.” Closer to tho city and abutting on tho railway lino not far from the first tunnel on tho Manawatu line several more railway cottages aro being built. The position is not an ideal one for tho purpose, and the _ occupants will have difficulty in obtaining a nights repose until they become used to the noiso and trembling of the habitations caused by tho passing trains. IN THE SUBURBS. Tile shortage of- houses in tho suburbs is just as acute as it is in tho city. Building is In-isle,. lint the delay in securing supplies of timber and tho dearth of carpenters is causing progress- to ho slow. Houses arc being sold and resold almost daily, so anxious arc people to secure a place whore they will be loft in peace. "There is not so much speculation in house property there_ as in Wellington,” a borough official stated, ‘‘and tho purchasers aro'mostly persons who arc manned men witli families, and who desire to live in tho promises. Tile demand is, however, a long way ahead of the supply.” PLENTY OF EMPLOYMENT. "The high cost of building material, the difficulty of securing supplies, as well as labour, militates against houso-building,” stated a leading builder, "hut it. is astonishing tho amount of building that is going on despite these drawbacks. First-class

carpenters aro becoming rare, and men who have but an elementary knowledge of the trade are demanding, and obtaining, the highest possible wage. Unless something is done to classify carpenters, and pay them according to merit, the day is not far distant when f.rst-elass tradesmen will ho bnt a memory. Work is so plentiful that an employer has to nurse the men ho has in his employ, or else they leave at the slightest provocation. One of the chief causes of the shortage of carpenters is due to the war, as men, on their return, arc going on the land, or engaging- in me. skilled labour where the wages are good and the work less arduous.”