HOUSES AND ANSWERS ... ARE WE LISTENING?

FOR someone who is busy, there are a lot of questions you would have in life that might not be answered all at once.

Often you have to wait – and listen.

(Yes, it is true that you can also go out and get the answers, if you want immediate answers. On the other hand, a bit more waiting on your part will see the answers coming to you.)

I had this question about houses and the price of building a house – that is, you want to do it yourself.

In fact, at night, when I am dropped off, I chat to our driver on different topics.

Recently, I talked to him about houses – particularly about houses in Port Moresby.

It is well-known that houses/property in Port Moresby are very expensive.

I have been told by different people that if you had your own land and wanted to build a house, you could do so for less than K100,000 – or even half that if you are not looking at something fancy.

Most houses advertised in the papers cost K500,000 or more.

Photo: A company's house in rural Rigo area of Central province, PNG. (Taken in 2011.)

Today, as I was getting ready for work, one of our aunties talked about building her house from the money her husband left her when he passed away.

She said with a “Kwik Built” house, a two-bedroom one would cost about K40,000 while a three-bedroom one could be a little above K100,000.

So, my queries from these past months have been answered … because I listened.

Do we have queries? Are we asking questions?

But most importantly: Are we listening?

The answers to your queries may be given to you tomorrow. But if you are not listening, you will miss them.

Beware.