SHORT OF HOMES

Taranaki Daily News, 17 November 1926, Page 12

SHORT OF HOMES

SURVEY OF YEAR’S BUILDING FIGURES. Tlie building position' for the whole Dominion during the last financial year is surveyed by the Government Statistician, who is able to show that expenditure on all classes of new- premises slightly exceeded that for the previous year, and totalled £8.613,549, in addition to which one and a half millions were expended on alterations and additions. The building industry is not yet catching up with the demand for housing. Last year 5907 new dwellings were built, the capital thus expended being £4,800,000. The Government Statistician does not give the yearly requirement in the present report to meet the annual increment in population, but this point was fully dealt with in a previous statement, enabling an estimate to be made for last'year. The increment of population, 30.001 A needed 7026 houses to provide for it on the average basis, but as tlie actual increase in housing accommodation was 5907, the shortage, not allowing for demolitions or losses from fires, was 1119. Tlie operations in respect to private dwellings were on a much larger scale than in the previous year, and again the strong preference was shown for wood as the building material, 5,478 l houses being of this material and only 429 of other materials. The average) eost of wooden dwellings in 1925 was £796, and that of dwellings in other materials £1259. When business premises are considered. the preference is for more permanent material. There were 317 wooden buildings valued at £1,263,000, and 909 of other materials involving an expenditure of £2,107,000, Wellington City, with a total of just under £2,000,000 this year, displaces Auckland City for premier position in value of building operations', Auckland with £1,567,000 occupying second place, Christchurch, with £748,451, being third and Dunedin (£525,121) being fourth. Some of the Auckland boroughs, however, show large totals, Mount Albert having expended £435,777, and Mount Eden £224,861, while high up in the list are Palmerston North £289.495, £219,739, and Gisborne £127,071. That the building industry is one of the most considerable in the Dominion is shown by the fact that during the past year, the value of its output was over ten millions sterling.