Evening Star Newspaper, November 10, 1923, Page 17

R.EvAL‘. b_é -r;x'n E. Day of Small House Ddwning, |, Babson, Statistician, | Declares Finds ‘Present Prices Out ot;" Reach of i Majority—Tells How to A ire Mil- lions of Buyers—Sees Cut in Costs. BY ROGER W. BABSON. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. WELLESLEY HILLS, Mass, wember 10.—The day of the small house is dawning. There is no question that some day the cost of bullding will be much less than it is now—the same as it 18 now about 15-20% less than it was in 1920. The time will come when instead of talking about the poor tenant our sympathies will be enllat- ed In the cause of the landlord. Every student of fundamental busi- ness statistics recognizes this sftua- tion. The point, however, which is tmportant Is whether or not this movement will come about suddenly or whether it will be spread out over & period of years. My own studies strongly suggest the longer and more gradual movement. There are two Principal reasons: Finds Dwellings Too High The first 1s that with all the new dwellings buiit durlng the past four Years the greater part have been priced far out of reach of the great majority of people. In fact, some figures worked out by my organiza- tion show that less than 10% of the people can afford to buy the =o-called *“moderate priced” dwelling built to- day. and may get along they strike reverses. family, however. ‘c No- all_right until The average nnot afford to &ive more than one week's pay out of | every month for rent. Less than 10% of the heads of familics in the United Btates make more than $50 a week. Check up the cost of the houses built lately In your commuynity and #ce how many of them can be rented profitably for less than $50 a month. Hence when one talks about the sat- wuration point in dwelling houses he must take Into account the price wones cons'dered. The saturation -t present prices apparently is rapidly being approached, but as on as an- other 15% or 20% cut in building s is put Into effect an entirely new group of prospective home own- ers is reached. Bullding Costs Can Be Cut. The next point is that building s can be reduced when the neces- sity_arises. The only reason prices of “building materials and building labor did not decline as much as the average of other thinks was becaus the demand was sufficient without That is merely the natural working of economic law. No one should be blamed for not charging less than the market price. On the other hand. as necessity arises the cost of building can and will be cut. If prices toda were at an irreducible minimum and demand were falling off. there would be more for the building industry to worry about! The chance of a sudden crash eith: in bullding costs or real estate v ues, therefore, small. The move- ment, on the contrary, will be far more’ likely to carry out the appear- ance of a series of steps. We had one big step down in 1921, followed by a partial advan fore long another step probably will be in order. General business as reflected in the Babsonchart is running at 16 per cent below normal. The idea. however, fhat building vai are suddeniy going to drop to pre-war levels seems as improbable as the view that they will always continue at present high prices. Glves Hint to Builders. It is highly important, however. that those who are interested in new building_recognize the trend ang work with it The greatest oppor- e tunities durine the comine vear will = —— Some, to be sure, have tried to | be in bullding lower-priced houses, not high-priced cpes. What Is most needed. today is afhouse within reach of the great S0yper cent of pros- pects. Necessltygls the mother of invention Some “lay we shall prob- ably look back o the high cost of buliding of today &s the source of tre- mendous benefit ; because of the economies and Improvements in con- struction methods 3t will have caused. If present indications are reliable the next few years wiil bring forth some remarkable changee in the customs and methods of building houses. If a bulider is to keep a continuous flow of new business he must lead in this procession, with the chict aim of producing homes for the great majopity. Every 10 per cent that the cost attractive homes can be reduced will Increase the field of possiile prospccts by 500,060 to 1,000,000 people. - During the past few months o les: than a dozen leadirg architects I brought to my att jon plans w they are developing. whereby comfort- able, livable homes jcan be built for much less than the ufjual cost. Some of these methods probatly will prove im- practical, but soms ¢’ them are going to help in producing frouses which the average man can affod to live in. They ary widely in method, but all aim at the same purpose. Mopt of them involve a saving of lebor. THs, by the way, I8 exactly what has happened in every other Industry when gabor costs have become exorbitantly hifth. ‘Ways to Reduce Costs, I Some architects hgve found that certain of the featutles in the usual ! house which add to the expense can be successfuliy eliminated. Others have attacked the problem on the {principle " of quantigy production. Much has been donelin the way of more economical plantfing: so that de- | 1ays and hold-ups in the work are al- I most entirely elimina ged. The idea that peopicjare always go- ling to have to strainjthe last notch |in order to get togethgr the rentjeach month is absolutely fa‘lacious. Vhen {2 number of people greatly nped a {certain thing some oneyalways Ands & !way to get it for thém. Mckeover, such service usually carries with It the greatest reward. ‘This present need for lower-priced dwellings and |lower rents represents :uch an oppor- tunity. From the investor's point of view the present situation I¢ the building {industry suggests threefthings. Points for Invéstors. Earnings of the industrial concern supplying the building -industry will ldepend during the nex: few vears jupomr whether or not .the builders grasp their present opportunities. The situation should be watched carefully by those interested In the securities {of this group of bullding supply con- cerns. The investment buildce faces the opportunity directly. Taere is litile question but he will prafit both by turning his attention to developments along the line of groups of less ex- pensive houses than by centinuing his activities in the higher price fields. Trend Toward Suburbs Noted, Finally, the average igvestor has an_opportunity in well Ibcated sub- urban land. Thousands upon thou- sands of modest homes will be bullt during the next few years. The auto- mobile has broken the traasit limita- tion which has heretofore found our cities. The trend will be in favor of suburbs and the investor who puts a part of his funds in well sejzcted sub- urban property at a fair prjce. judged on present levels, should prhfit during the next few years. (Mr. Babson, the noted statisticlzn and econ- omist.” will continue his specal gurticles on nd tinancial conditions ff next Sat- Washington’s most exclusive residential section of détach- ed homes. Containing seven mill lion feet of forest-coverediland, with six miles of improved streets. Includes what remaias of “The Triangle of Increasing Values:’ between Connecticut, Massachusetts and Cathedral avenues (Woodley Rd.). Over five m illion feet of land sold. ©ver 130 homes from $15,000 to $200,000 built and under Ton- truction. Wooded villa sites. brick homes, with lots from 50 lots and central and side *hall to 115 feet front—Park Ol_fice, 32d and Cathedral Ave. (Woodley Rd.). Middaugh & Shannon, Ine¢. Woodward Building, 15th and H Sts. Establinhed 1509 e e LI 11121 I AL L LA TS LA T I A a0 One of the most attractive and built-in bookcases, built-in This home has been reduce: resents an excellent investment PN L LA A L OO R, fer Street (Corner 41st and Jenifer Streets) and beautifully finished bunga- lows in Chevy Chase, containing every appointment that goes to make up a fine modern home, including hardwood floors throughout, two baths, large living room with 8pen fireplace garage, etc. d considerably in price and re; at the price offered. = WE URGE YOUR IMMEDIATE INSPECTION Open Sunday, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. WARDMAN 143~ K St. N.W. wan BU FARM INTEREST RATE Saving Encouraged by Associations Provide More Funds for Mort- Bu the United States, which have assets now total wold to Adolph J. Schippert, for m K. Hartung & Co. The conxideration said to be in the neighborhood of $65,000. ILDING LOANS CUT “outside” are greatly eliminated, it is found, in communities where the sav- ings 'are sufficient to provile the needed funds of the locality. Building and loan assoclatlons, and other in- stitutions representing thrift, have total assets so great that it is'neces- sary that these be taken into con- sideration in Investigating local a cumulations of capital, the research |found. In the year 1922-1923 building and loan association assets reached $3,342,530,953. gages at Lower Charge. | _Although building and loan asso- | ciations ve been concerned pri- e marily with loans for urban purpo: recently they have been venturing {into the field of rural loans. the in- vestigation shows. A good begin- has been made in Kansas, where iations in seven counties have rural credit loans totaling ilding and loan associations in reaching a total exceeding the capital and surplus of the [f made national banks, have become an im- |$1,258.630.40. portant factor in affecting farm mort- | gage compilation just made by the Instl- ‘twenty-on tute and Public Utilities, which will be of | signi clalists within the Natlonal Associa- | tion real and ilding a | nave veen jumation in and Ioan _associations itating the credit sit- ¢ York state, where associgtions hold shares for Research in Land Economics |in the state land bank to the total r value of $100,000. In turn, ad- { nces have been made by the land | banks to member associations; such ns in twelve New York received advances the value of $419,000. interest rates, according to ficance to farm mortgage spe- of Real Estate Boards and to! estate men, investors generally farm borrowers. The assets and | to loans of these associations are being tabulated by counties with study being made by the institute. | Th in connection | QELAND HEADS COMMITTEE. a farm mortgage interest rate | L. L. Oeland, president of the Mad- e more local funds any glven |ison Real Rstate Board, has been community has avallable for loans, | named chairman of the multiple list other things being equal, the lower |ing committee of the National Asso- the rate of interest, the report points | ciation of Real Estate Boards to take out. the The costs which usually attend | borrowing of money from the the place of George Ricaby ledo, resigned of To- MR. RALPH D. BENTON (Formerly of Benton, Trenholm & Co.) announces his connection with the Sales Organization of William K. Hartung & Company Realtors 1108 16th St. N.W. “£I%3i< Maih 372 A Home of Distinction On the Aenue of th resd x i 5317 Sixteenth Street (In that beautiful section just opposite the reservoir) Solidly built of Blue Granite Stone, 16-inch walls, two-car garage in rear, of same stone as house. This home contains 12 rooms—3 baths, quartered oak flooring, back stairway, beauti- ful, doors and woodwork, finished in mahogany and white; in- closed breakfast porch; two sleeping porches, one open and one inclosed. This home will be open for your inspec- tion every day and evening until 9 P.M. Built by G. U, Small We Invite Your Inspection 'L. E. Breuninger & Sons 706 Colorado Bldg. ;Main 6140 LANDCOLONZNG PLANSDEFENDED Realty Association Replies to Criticisms of Secretary Wallace. Attitude of the United States De- partment of Agriculturé holding set- tlement of raw land on colonization rlans not in the public interest s following dangerously the precedent of English governmental policy to- ward agriculture, according to the position taken by the Natlonal Asso- clation of Real Estate Boards in re- Ry to a recent bulletin of the de- partment. Whatever the depresssion that has prevailed in farm conditions a con- tinuing of migration of men to the land {s a sound condition for the en- during health of the American eco- nomic_system, H. U. Nelson, execu- tive secretary of the association, holds in a letter sent to Secreatry Wallace. The letter is in reply to the Secretary’s statement that finan- cial rewards paid to the farmer are Just now so disproportionately low as to leave no enthusiasm for wholesale land settlement. Experience of England. England, when the war came, found its posssibility of producing food gone, because, as the modern factory system developed and population flocked to the citles, it had treated its agriculture as of secondary im- portance. Its further cxperience in the posi-war adjustment with @ pop- ulation that, because of the inertia of living habits, insists on living in the citles whether there i3 anything there to live on or not, is cited by the association as significant of the results any public pollicy that would M&courage the traditional free flux within the American population of its young blood and its ploneer spirit into the development of land. “This period of overproduction and farm distresss is likely to be tempo- rary in the sense that it cannot last very many years, and I think it is also true that wihtin the not distant future our consumption will over- take our production,” Secretary Wal- lace concedes In a letter to the as- clation dlsagreelng with its posi- tion that from the standpoint of so- clety as a whole it is desirable for all ‘existing agencles, governmental and otherwise, to be encouraged in efforts to establish citizens on the land. | for Mrs. Efie A. Wilson. FURNACE REGULATORS Questions Advantage. While conceding that the best col- onization companfes have pursued a policy almost philanthropic in get- ting the settler established, the de- partment in its recent publication raises the question of whether any natlonal advantage s accomplished in bringing wild lands into use as rapidly as may be under present eco- nomic conditions in agriculture. Few persons, as the department sees the = Maintain Right Degree of ‘Warmth. Store and office bullding xoon to be » be const; ARE INSTALLED EASILY Can Be Inserted Into ‘Wall to Heat regulators can be installed in- conspicuously in a wall which main- tain just the right degree of warmth for the home which is most comfort- able and healthful. It relieves the situation, now seek a ploneering life on their own initlative. It is sales- manship, and not any vital economic pressure, that is bringing about the taking up of much of the great areas of wild lands, the department econo- mists declare. While admitting that the better colonization companies have pursued & policy almost philan- thropic in their creation of new com- munities, the publication maintains that many persons have been induced by the advantages offered to take up raw land, particularly in the upper great lakes reglon, who are not fitted for a ploneering life. Any sale of agricuitural land not suitable for agriculture is, of course, indefensible, the Natlonal Assoc! of Real Estate Boards states in a bulletin taking up the relation of lic interest. estate dealer. admittedly But while there of marginal lands, mittedly, only the and while, event can an industry. It is a home. years, can acquire an _estate. ous right now colonization plans to the general pub- Such a sale would be condemned by every responsible real a present slackening of world pressure toward development ad- prove which man, in any quota of settlers will rise to the experiment, the farm, it points out, is something more than And de- spite the depression of the past few it remains, perhaps, the only situation in which millions of people Indications are not lacking, the asssociation adds, that agriculture outside of the one- crop area, is comparatively prosper- treet northwest, . Warthen. !neople of the house of the disagree- able duty of operating dampers and drafts by hand and does the work au- tomatically, dependably, and, through the use of the clock arrangement, at any hour of the day or night. The motor, by means of chains run- ning to the dampers, controls t It consists of a thermostatic d connected by wiring to an ele motor in the basement. The motor, by means of chains running to the dampers, controls the fire A small dial just below the thermometer en- ables the household to set the regu- later for any degree of temperature during the day. A clock governs the hour at which daytime temperature is reduced for the night. It also causes the thermostat to automati- cally raise the temperature to normal warmth before the family arises in the morning. Regulators can be had in one-day and eight-day models, both identical in outside appearance and design and which fit inconspicuously into any room in the house. They are finished in sand-blast bronze and can operate in connection with any type of motor. —_— Three hundred and forty-five wom- en are serving In every elective office In town government in Connecticut, according to a bulletin just issued b the Connecticut League of Women Voters. BUILDING PERMITS TOTAL $454.700 Central Union Mission to Erect Structure Costing $175,000 Here. Permits to build issued by the District Commissioners during the current week aggregated in value $454,700, according to the list made public. Included in the list is a per- mit to the Central Union Mission to build at 622 Loufsiana avenue north- west, at a cost of $175,000. The list follows: Mrs. Mary Roberts Relnhart, to re- pair 2419 Massachusetts avenue $6,700. Terrell & Little, to bulld, 2118 14th street; $2,000. W. Henning, to build, 3 street southeast; $5,000. H. M. Bralove and R. O. Scholz, to build, 5316 Reno road; $9.500. P. Hannan, to build, 1637 P street: $2,500. N. Zarin, to build, 60§ Florida ave- 25th Roy Lansdale, 5Tth street; $11.000. L. R. Stambaugh, to build, northwest; $18,00 Kramer, to build, 1215 Holly $7,000. M. 'Herbert, to build, street northeast; $4.500. B. F. Saul, to build, 2182 Wyoming avenue; $50,000. H. A Kite, to bulld, 213-317 335-339 13th street southeast; J. B. Shapiro, to build, street northeast; $15.000. H. G. Smithy, to build twelve houses, 1001-1023 Quincy street north- west; $100,000. 8. V. Gusack, to repair 511 E street northwest; $4,000. Mrs. Hulda Gates, to repair 5608 Connecticut avenue; $5,500. George Chase, to build, 513 Whittier street; $6.00 PROTECTION PLANNED FOR WORD ‘REALTOR’ Real Estate Board Names Vigilance Committee, With David E. Barry as Chairman. to buld, 5610 5405-54 and 0,000 500 2d Announcement was made by J Weedon, president of the Washinzton Real Estate Board, of the appoint- ment of a standing vigilance commit- tee for the coming year with David Barry, chairman. This committes has as one of its principal duties the protection of the title realtor from misuse. Only members of the Real Estate Board, it was pointed out, are privileged to use the tile, coined word adopted by the Association of Real Estate Boards for the exclusive use of the members of its local constituent boards Members of the board feel a prid in the use of this title, that a realtor is real estate broker, taining office and definite office hours and has subscribed to a definite code of ethics in_the conduct of his business. In addition to Mr. Barry, this com- mittee consists of Joseph A. Petty, Maurice A, Beckham, M. H. Berry, W. Cameron Burton, L. Howard and Alvin B. Kiesecker. 2939 MACOMB ST. N.W. Cleveland Park OPEN FOR YOUR INSPECTION SATURDAY AND SUNDAY An attractive bungalow, containing six large rooms and bath; hot-water heat; electric light; open fireplace. Garage. House recently redecorated throughout, and is in A-1 condition. LIGHTED EVENINGS SANSBURY CO., Inc. N. L X “Everything in Real Estate” 1418 Eye St. N.W. Phones Main 5903-4 Memsbers of Washingten Real Estate Board On the M. 1023 “See the ‘Best’ Home Buy” 4921—9th St. N.W. “A New Feature Home” The Price, House and Terms Will Please You To Inspect—Take Georgia Ave. car to Emerson St., walk one block east to house. Walter A. Owner and Builder 1410 H Street N.W. Or Your Own Broker Market Dunigan M. 1023 “Eight Homes” Just Completed Two of which were sold during construction We have added to these Homes several entirely new and practical features. Then, too, we consid- ered the time was here to give to the family pur- chasing a moderate-priced Home the same care- ful construction, thoughtful planning, the latest applied conveniences, pleasing, refined decora- tions, as the man able to buy a higher-priced Home. This will doubtless be concurred in by every one inspecting these homes. Come out and see a really nice home at a moderate price. Sample 13th and So. Carolina Ave. S.E. CHAS. D. SAGER Realtor Owner and Builder 924 14th Street Main 36 “Headquarters for new Homes” N e e e T R R, A BIG BARGAIN onroe St. N.W. See This Home Before Buying in Mt. Pleasant e e 10 rooms, 2 baths Hot-water heat Electricity Garage All Offers Will Be Considered Open for Inspection Occupied by Owner Immediate Possession C.ZIRKLE Main 4985 N