The Daily News. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1920. EXTRAVAGANT HOUSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 November 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1920. EXTRAVAGANT HOUSES.

The proceedings connected with the annual conference of the N.Z. Builders' Association this year appear to be marked by a desire to bring common-sense criticism to bear on several of the problems of the day coming within the legitimate province of builders. Among the subjects discussed at the conference was the tendency of the people to demand in their private homes so many things that are not necessary. The statement was made by one of the delegates that "people are short of houses, yet very extravagant houses are demanded, and with extravagant finance. In no direction is the prosperity of the Dominion more emphatically exhibited than in the direction of extravagance and ostentatious expenditure. The last quarter of a century has witnessed remarkable changes in the habits of the people, especially in the matter of their emergence from the Cinderella stage of make- ' shifts to the indulgence in expensive luxuries and a far higher status in housing and furnishings. Exceptional prosperity made that evolution possible, but it set up a fashion that people of smaller means were not slow to follow, There is, however, a vast difference between the position of those who indulge in extravagance with their own money and those who do so on borrowed capital, and it is the position of the latter to which the Builders' Conference particularly drew attention. "] think," said a delegate, "we should make oertain representations on this aspect of present-day conditions. Borrowed money is being spent; right and left, 1 am afraid that a financial crisis is coming, and that prices will come down as quickly as they went up. That must spell ruin to many who have bought properties they cannot afford." While this view may be unduly pessimistic, it is entitled to serious -consideration. It : is not merely a question of people : paying more for house accommoda- j tion than they can afford, but the , isvger the outlay on building the 'i

higher will be the cost of furnishing, and the less there will be available for the -necessaries of life. There are indications of this aspect of the question already being in evidence to some extent, and the builders' delegates have done good service in emphasising that extravagance is likely to lead to disaster. The large amount of money provided by the Government to enable returned soldiers to acquire homes has been a factor in the tendency to extragance. The scheme was unquestionably well designed, but instead of the utmost economy being exhibited in relation to the amount borrowed, there has been a disposition in many cases to obtain as much as possible, with the result of unduly inflating the value of house property and increasing the cost of building. Commenting on this matter, the President of the Association said: "Many of our returned soldiers have gone to extremes in their desire to secure houses oi their own. If they had been safeguarded it would have been better for us and better for them." Few will be found to contest the accuracy of that statement. It was the one weak point in the scheme that not only tended to induce the returned soldiers to go to extremes, but caused them to be exploited. A suggestion was made by the President of the Builders' Association that the Federation might take in hand the matter of advice for outsiders who wish to buy or build houses. Had this proposal been in operation during the last two years it is probable it would have proved of much benefit. It ip not too late even now to take action in this direction, for there' appears to be a pressing need for the principle of moderation to be enforced, j otherwise the future may hold the elements of a disaster that may prove a serious set-back to the Dominion.