Registrar-Generals-Department-Annual-report-1972-1973 — Page 15

31,634, the number of units affected by the 30,529 assignments of undivided shares, one gets an average consideration of about $99,500 for transactions of this type as against $79,900 in the previous year and $66,400 in the year before last. This increase is no doubt largely due to increases in land value and building costs, coupled with the continuing high demand for accommodation of all types.

27. The number of mortgages rose from 18,251 in 1971-72 to 28,550, including 171 building mortgages. The grand total of mortgage considerations increased to $3,791m., 79.1% over last year's total of $2,117m. The figure included $528m. in respect of the 171 building mortgages, which therefore averaged about $3.09m. each. The number of re-assignments rose by 1,550 (13.9%) to the new record figure of 12,695 and the relevant considerations rose by $590m. (59.1%) to $1,589m., also a new record.

28. With the increases in the numbers of assignments, mortgages and reassignments, the grand total of considerations in all instruments was up by 63.1% from $6,697m. last year to $10,921m., yet another new record.

29. All instruments relating to flats and other units in new multi- storey buildings are registered on cards in accordance with the card registration system described in the 1965-66 Report. This system was so successful that it was decided to transfer all the records now con- tained in the old type bound registers on to cards. Since the maximum benefit of the new system is obtained in the case of subdivided multi- storey buildings, the existing subdivision registers relating to such buildings were dealt with first, and by 31st March 1968 the records in all of the 198 subdivision registers had been transferred to cards. The old registers relating to lots, sections and subsections owned as single entities are now being replaced by cards, and steady progress in this work was made during the year 1972-73. All instruments relating to new lots, sections and subsections are also being registered on cards.

30. Every instrument presented for registration in the Land Office, together with the memorial thereof, is scrutinized prior to its registra- tion. Where any error is discovered in any instrument or memorial, the instrument is 'stopped' and returned for correction to the solicitors certifying the memorial. Of the 97,387 instruments registered in 1972-73, 20,436 (21%) were 'stopped' for the correction of a total of 38,231 errors, which fell into the following categories:

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