Evening Star Newspaper, March 2, 1935, Page 18

REA VAGANCY FIGURES STEADILY FALLING Survey in 73 Cities Shows Demand for Property Is Rising Rapidly. Strong recovery from the low point of 1933 in the demand for one and two-family houses, apartments and other residential accommodations is revealed in the reports of vacancy surveys made locally in 73 cities dur- ing the past five years, and brought together for analysis by the Federal Housing Administration. The number and percentage of va- cant houses and apartments increased steadily in the majority of these cities from 1930 to 1933, but commenced to decrease sharply in the latter part of 1933. On the average, more than 40 per cent of the number of houses that were vacant in 1933 were occupied in 1934, when the vacancies were reduced to a point more than 15 per cent lower than in 1930. Vacancies Customarily Small. ‘The percentage of vacancies in one- family dwellings is customarily small- er than in the case of apartments or other types of dwellings. The vacan- cies in one-family dwellings reported last year were substantially below the 1933 level, and were also definitely under the 1930 level. | These facts bear out the findings of & preliminary study of seven repre- | sentative cities, completed a short time ago. The results of surveys made in 73 cities during the five years from 1930 through 1934 are recognized as in- complete because of the irregularity of returns and because of the varia- tion of methods used in the surveys. However, while these figures are the only ones available. they give a posi- tive indication of the vacancy trend for these years. The local survey re- ports were gathered in part directly by the Federal Housing Administra- tion, and were supplemented by the material previously obtained by the National Bureau of Standards from lccal real estate boards and post of- fices. Vacancy Percentages. ‘The most frequently occurring per- centage of vacancy in total residen- tial accommodations for the 73 cities was—1930, 4.7 per cent; 1931, 6 per| cent; 1932, 7 per cent; 1933, 7.2 per cent; 1934, 3.9 per cent. i The most frequently occurring per- centage of vacancy in one-family L ESTATE. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, .D. C, Modernization Transforms Unattractive dwellings for 65 cities reporting this | item was—1930, 3.1 per cent; 1931,/ 3.4 per cent; 1932, 4 per cent; 1933, 4.9 per cent; 1934, 3 per cent. The greatest improvement in 1934, compared with 1933, was shown by | the following five cities: Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Rockford, Ill.. Fort | Wayne, Ind., and Denver. Tables giv- | ing the figures for each of the 73| cities are available from the Federal | Housing Administration. FARM BANKRUPTCIES DROP 20 FCT. IN YEAR! Largest Declines in East, North| Central and Pacific Areas, Report Shows. A reduction of 20 per cent in the | number of farm bankruptcies during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1934, is reported by the Bureau of Agri- | cultural Economics. The total num- ber in the year was 4,716, compared with 5917 in 1933 and with 4,849 in 1932. | Largest relative declines were in East North Central and Pacific areas ! where the 1934 totals were 32 and 35 per cent less than in 1933. Twelve States, mainly in the South Atlantic| division, showed increases in number of farmer bankruptcies since 1933. Illi- nois led all other States with 527 cases Ohio was next with 443 cases and Towa had 395 cases. | ADVERTISING INCREASED Better Housing Campaigns Aid Big Building Increases. Newspaper advertising lineage in the last five months increased by 23,- | 573,500 lines devoted entirely to prop- ! erty modernization and repair, based | on better housing program activity | in various cities throughout the coun- try, according to the Federal Housing ! Administration. Independent fact-finding organiza- tions report January, 1935, building | permits in 215 cities almost $5,000,000 | over December, 1934, the previous SATURDAY, Residence + A striking transformation is illustrated in the “before” and “after” shown here. Mod- ernization at a comparatively small cost changed the ugly shack above to the beautiful home below. The Federal Housing Administration in- sures funds of private finan- cial institutions to be used in just such projects as this. The loans may be obiained Jrom institutions on the most Javorable of terms, laid down by the administration. No security is required, merely the good character of the bor- rower. The F. H. A. at the present time is ‘conducting in Washington a campaign to raise $6,000,000 in home and commercial property pledges. Workers are to visit every home and business establish- ment in the city in the effort to reach their goal. + 498 MILLIONS PAID FARMERS IN MONTH. January Income $10,000,000 in| Advance of Total Revenue Accounted in December. January farm income was $498,000,- 000 compared ‘- with $488,000,000 in December and $485,000,000 in Janu- ary, 1934, reports the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Cash income from crops and live- stock was $428,000,000 in January compared with $435,000,000 in De- cember and $425,000,000 in January, 1934. Rental and benefit payments by the A. A. A. in January totaled $63,000,000 compared with $47,000,000 in December and $60,000,000 in Janu- ary last year. Income from emergency month. This increase of over 26 per cent is significant considering the ‘usual seasonal decrease of 12 per cent. | Give Architect Leeway. | ! When altering or remodeling, give | the architect an abundance of leeway. He is an expert. He can see what the | layman cannot see. He can make 1 practical suggestions, and he can save | you money. He can suggest small, in- | expensive changes you may not have thought of, but which will mean much to you. Give the architect a general | 1dea of what you want, but let him de- | velop it. He can visualize the finished | product as only one so trained can | see it. l PROBABLY sales of cattle in the drought area totaled $6,000,000 in January and income from the sale of sheep and goats $1,000,000. The bureau says the decrease in income from farm market- | ings in January was less than usual. Farm income during the first six months of this year will be slightly larger than in the same period last || year, the bureau expects. A smaller income from crops during the period will probably be more than offset by || a larger income from livestock. Rental and benefit payments during the first | | six months of this year, it is esti- mated, will be considerably higher than in the same period last year, or || from $300,000,000 to $350,000,000, || compared with $149,000,000 last year. || \ Y ERA=N no other community so o near a city guards so well the natural beauty of rolling hillsides and wooded landscape as Spring Valley. Each Miller-Built home here is a gem in beauty and con See the Furn; structive merit. ished Exhibit Home Open 10 A.M.—9 P.M. 4921 Quebec St. Furnished by Potthast Brothers Access ories by Brown Tea Pot Shop Rugs by Keshishian Modern Gas Conveniences by Washington Program for Federal Reserve Building Design Gets Approval The Committee on Competitions of the American Institute of Architects has approved the program for the selection of an architect to design the proposed building for the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. Nine competitors were selected as follows: Arthur Brown, jr., San Fran- cisco; Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch & Abbott, Boston; Paul Philippe Cret, Philadelphia; Delano & Aldrich, John Russell Pope, James Gamble Rogers, Egerton Swartwout and York & Sawyer, New York; Holabird & Root, Chicago. The jury of award consists of Dean William Emerson of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, John W, Cross and John Mead Howells, New York; Frederic A. Delano, chairman of the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and Adolph C. Miller, member of the Federal Re- serve Board. The building is to be erected on Constitution avenue adjacent to the National Academy of Sciences, de- signed by the late Bertram G. Good- | hue. The program, prepared by Dean | Everett V. Meeks of the Yale Univer- | sity School of Fine Arts, provides for |a structure of white marble to con- form to the material of its neighbors. A clause in the program states that “it is further suggested that the use of columns, pediments and other !similar forms may be omitted and |should be restricted to a minimum | consistent with the character of the | building.” This would appear to indicate that the reign of the column and pedi- ment is nearing its close, even in | Washington, according to a state- |ment by Dr. Charles Butler of New | York, a member of the institute’s Committee on Competitions. “The conditions set up by the board rage. OPEN TODAY To reach: about two miles to Everett 5520 Conn. Ave. A SUBURBAN ESTATE 1Y, acres of ground—high elevation—excellent location. $10,500-00 Located at the Northeast corner of Everett Street and Summit Avenue, Chevy Chase View TI{E brick residence contains two bed rooms, bath, living room, dining room, kitchen and large sun room, large basement area for recreation room, two-car built-in ga- The grounds are well landscaped and entirely enclosed in stone and anchor iron fences. Out Conn. Ave, beyond Chevy Chase Lake EDW. H. JONES & CO., Inc. AND SUNDAY Street, turn left to property. ClL. 2300 Only 6519 8th Detached House 5 Bed *8,950 St. N.W. Thoroughly Renovized seem reasonable,” Dr. Butler says, “although one is permitted to express the hope that the architect will | finally be authorized to employ his own mechanical engineers and do his own superintendence, both of these questions having been left in abeyance in the program. “At this time, when there has been so much justified criticism of the Government's treatment of the archi- tectural profession, it is a satisfac- tion to be able to report approval of the program by the Committee on Competitions.” A Real Value 47!1 Hunt Ave. Chevy Chase Gardens Real Sacrifice Price Detached brick. center-hall plan. 6 . 2 baths. ‘attic. Tot. € In an excellent new e resid section. 2 blocks west of Wisconsin Ave. Open Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday. WM. M. THROCKMORTON Realtors Investment Bldg. Dist. 6092 MARCH 2, 1935. FARM PROPERTIES NEED REPAINTING REAL ESTATE. Air Conditioning How-to-Keep-Cool Problem to Be Faced Soon by D. C. Residents. BY LAWRENCE TUCKER. Bureau’s Figures Indicate| winter win be over soon and resi- Most Sections in Need of Surface Coats. Farm properties throughout the Nation are in serious need of re- placement, repair and renovation, with the need for paint shown in most sections as greatest of all, ac- cording to recent real property sur- veys made by the Federal Govern- ment. The Bureau of Home Economics, Department of Agriculture, recently investigated and brought to light the extent of paint needs in each State. A group of Southern States, for ex- ample, showed that the percentages of farm homes in need of paint were as follows: Georgia, 73.6 per cent; Alabama, 718 per cent; Tennessee, 48.52 per cent; Louisiana, 785 per cent; Florida, 46.17 per cent; North Carolina, 793 per cent. These fig- an additional widespread need for the repainting of farm machinery. In view of these reconditioning needs, and in view of the fact that the buying power of the farmer has increased 40 per cent over the 1933 figure, the Federal Housing Admin- istration is at present launching a campaign to acquaint 6,250,000 farm- ers with the provisions of the na- tional housing act which make pos- sible the modernization of homes and equipment on borrowed money. The Government agency plans to point out the advantages of making property improvements on credit. The modernization campaign will be brought to a climax before the farm- er's season of Spring land work. It is the aim of the Housing Ad- ministration to bring to the attention of farmers the opportunity to borrow funds from private lending agencies under Government insurance, for the purpose of renovating, repairing and thus increasing the efficiency of farm production. The funds, obtainable in loans up to $2,000, are eligible for use in re- painting, housing officials point out. . H. A. LAYING NEW CREDIT FOUNDATION Moffett Points Out' Government Is Educating Banks in Special Kind of Financing. The modernization credit program of the Federal Housing Administra- tion, which will continue in operation throughout 1935, is laying the foun- dation of a permanent system of con- sumer credit which will see the banks and other financial institutions of the | country doing business in strictly | character loans long after the mod- | ernization provisions of the national housing act expire. This is the opinfon of Federal Housing Administritor James A. | Moffett, who in a recent address | pointed out that this Government | agency is educating thousands of banks in a special kind of financing in which few of them previously had engaged. “It would be a great mis- fortune to the country and a great loss to industry if this character lend- |ing came to a stop the last day of 1935, Mr. Moffett asserted. ‘That it will not come to a stop, we are con- | vinced.” | The housing administrator said he believes the bankers will have learned that it is good business to lend money on character credit, regardless of whether the borrower wants to spend it on modernizing his home or for anything else. He stressed the sig- nificance of these developments from the standpoint of private industry, which he said will have an opportunity to do far more business than in the past due to the development of this lending policy. deretofore, he esti- mated, only about 350 lending insti- tutions had ever advanced money on character credit SIX LARGE ROOMS BREAKFAST NOOK FINISHED ATTIC TWO BATHS BRICK CONSTRUCTION SLATE ROOF %9,950 4517 RIDGE ST. CHEVY CHASE, MD. Be sure to see this modern new home. It is an outstanding value at this remarkably low To reach: Drive out Conn. Ave. to Bradley Lane; turn Left (West) to East Ave.; Right, 1 block to Ridge St. . WESLEY BUCHANAN, Inc. 916 15th St. Realtors. Met. 1143 Mortgage Loans Monthly Payments of $6-60 on each $1,000 borrowed, include interest and pay off loan in 20 years. o Interest charged only on unpaid balance of principal. o Amount loaned—up to 60% Other plans of financing first of appraised value. Carolina, 59.2 per cent, and South ! The fact dents of Washington will be faced with the problem of keeping cool instead of warm. Many .have already inquired about the possibility of in- stalling air conditioning in their homes, apartments, offices and stores, and it looks as though this will be a banner year for the air conditioning industry. During the past few years there has been an almost universal ac- ceptance of air conditioning as a necessity in many businesses. theaters were the first to realize the need of creating a comfortable at- mosphere if they were to maintain their attendance during the hot Summer months. All of our popular downtown theaters are air conditioned, but while there are many people that say that they would prefer natural conditions to the cooled indoors, the increased attendance in these theaters indicates that the majority of the people like to enjoy a show in comfort. Condition Easily Controlled. cold in many cases, and people that are susceptible to colds are apt to be affected by the low temperature pre- vailing. There are so meny people that have experienced discomfort of this sort that the air conditioning in- | dustry has to live down, as best it can, the black eye it has received from this source. On the other hand, the reason for this uncomfortably cold, damp con- dition is well known and steps should be taken to correct it. In these theaters the air is being passed through a washer in which the re- frigerated water is being sprayed. | If the outside conditions are at a maximum, the plants are possibly overloaded, the spray water is not enough to remove moisture by con- densation, and as a result the con- ditioned air is cooled but not dried. Modern installations are made with adequate capacity, so that even on the worst days the machinery will A REAL VALUE By Owner NEAR FRANCISCAN MONASTERY 4101 13th St. N.E. (Brookland) brick dwelling, 6 rooms, bath and built-in garage. Weather - stripped, caulked, Rock Wool insula- tion, automatic heat. Electric refrigeration. 2 screened porches. Excellent condition. Corner Open Sunday 2to 5P.M. of the matter is that the | conditions maintained in some thea- | ures do not take into consideration | ters are not exactly what they should be. The air is cold and clammy, too | and provide cooled, dehumidified air to the audience. On the latest types ’ol’ systems the use of a washer has | been eliminated, with the refrigerat- ing medium passing through a bank of colls much like an automobile radiator. By using these coils, with- |out water sprays coming in contact | with the air, there will be no moisture added in case the temperatures are not sufficiently low to remove water and lower the humidity The great advances that have been made over the short period of three |or four years certainly indicate that air conditioning is here to stay. It | will become every bit as much of a | necessity to the average home owner or dweller as it already is to the theater, the restaurant or store. It is only a matter of time before less | expensive equipment will be avail- | able for every one. At the present |time those people that considered e | the installation of air conditioning in the past, and found the cost prohibi- | tive, will find that prices are con- | siderably lower. The various dealers are equipped with more accurate engineering data, and also have a better knowledge of installation de- | talls and costs, thereby enabling them | to submit much more attractive pro- ‘msaxs to the prospective purchasers. LEASE THREE STORES | Automobile Accessory Chain En- ters Washington Field. The office of Carl G. Rosinski, | realtor, announced today the leasing of three business properties here to an | automobile accessory firm of Phila- delphia, known as the Pep Boys, Manny, Moe & Jack, Inc. ‘This organization operates a chain of stores from coast to coast. Its | branches here will be located at the | southeast corner of Fourteenth and R streets, 724 Thirteenth street and at 3130 M street. All oi the properties will be eompletely remodeled before !‘lhe new tenants move in. NEW COLONIAL BRICK HOME Center Entrance—Corner Lot, { 100 Ft. Front P — 49th and Brandywine Sts. N.W. Of Distinctive and Authentic Architecture. ure. $11,250 Six rooms. two beautiful modern tile baths: breakfast alcove; _clubroom: floored attic. Three bedrooms. Large living room with epen fireplace; Vene- tian window shades. One-car deta brick garage. STRUCTURAL PERFECTION! © Compiete Insulation—J- 0ol Iis. e d weatherstripped: cop- per, screens. downspouts aad - ers. ® Recessed radiation. OPEN FOR INSPECTION. M A a9tn venue to turn right 3 blecks J. DALLAS GRADY Owner-Builder, 1104 Vermont Avenue. DL 9179. 3101 Northampton St. Chevy Chase, Md. 4 Bed Rooms—All Brick—$11,950 A lovely large 4-bed-room detached brick on a 60-ft. lot in this beautiful section—2-car built-in garage—perfect new-house condition, new refrigeration, open fireplace—slate roof—modern in every respect, at a bargain figure, ON TERMS. Open Saturday P.M. PHILLIPS & NA. 4600 SRR and All Day Sunday CANBY, Inc. Investment Bldg. Right Now . . . See These SUPERIOR NEW HOMES! Just completed by C. W. McKendrie THE SEASON’S GREATEST VALUE! OPEN DAILY ALL BRICK STEP-DOWN LIVING ROOM ENCLOSED LIBRARY WONDERFUL LOCATION RECREATION EW homes struction, living room! cabinet! 518 ONEIDA N.W. Electr steel cabinets a. lightful bed room: type recreation room with real fireplace! Detached 9 AM. TO 9 P.M. that are really sensational in com= arrangement and features! An ine closed sun room or library! A beautiful step-down Breakfast room with built-in china HEALTH Kitchen with special all the modern fixtures! 3 de- 2 lovely tiled baths! A new- Every modern convenience. Convenient to stores ® Valuable prepayment privi- leges. garage! Fine modern community. near schools, churches and stores. half block from bus. DRIVE OUT RIGHT NOW! Gas Light Co. Decorated by Wesley Heights Shop mortgage loans available. Near corner of Van Buren St. ROOM — FIRE- Open Daily and Sunday WM. H. SAUNDERS CO,, Inc. t. 1015 and schools. ¥ e Drive out Massachusetts Avenue, = furn e/t on Foraham Redd to &= 4921 Quebec Street, Spring Valley. W. C. & A. N. MILLER 1119 17th Street DIstrict 4464 Out 5th §t. N.W. to Onelda, left on Onmeida to homes. Tower Bldg. H. L. RUST COMPANY 1001 Fifteenth Street National 8100 DI. 3100