Some Remarkable Increases Recorded in the Valuatio of Preferred Sites: The Problem of Residential Buildings 'AND values throughout the whole Settlement have shown a distinct upward tendency during the year.
The local land market is, of course, limited; the number of lots coming into the market is not at any time large and the number of prospective buyers is small. This coupled with tightness with which lots are held especially by Chinese owners makes it difficult to arrive at anything which can be considered a true guide to market values.
The past year has probably been a normal one in respect to the number of properties changing hands.
Land values have advanced enormously during the past 10 years and even during the past five years and the tendency appears to be still upward.
Prices of Tlqp.75,000 to Tls. 90,000 per mow are asked for undeveloped land in not the best parts of the Central district. In the better parts, excluding the Bund and Nanking Road, Tls. 125,000 per mow has been obtained for undeveloped land and Tls. 140,000 to Tls. 150,000 per mow for properties not of modern development.
Tis, 140,000 per mow is approximately '140,000 per acre. Compare this to £40,000 to £50,000 an acre for sites in the heart of London and it will be seen how high local values are.
Bund sites for land only are quoted at from Tls, 300,000 to Tls. 350,000 per mow.
Choice Northern district sites range from Tls. 65,000 to Tis, 75,000 per mow.
Eastern and Western district sites are all correspondingly increased above those of a few years ago.
As an example of how closely Chinese owners hold their land it is quite common to see the most pitiful shacks standing on sites worth from Tis, 10,000 to Tls. 16,000, per mow, owner occupied. Instances of this are common throughout almost every district of the Settlement.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.