The San Francisco call., 1908-10-04

last spring. II would be safe to cal
culate that in many cases there will
be no change in the market quota
tions until after the fall elections. if
at that time"
Sargent & Co., New York, say:
Hardware for building purposes is
possibly % per cent cheaper than it
was a year ago at this time. 1t is
not cheaper, however, than it was
three years ago.
Prices for roofing slate, according to
the Genuine Bangor slate. company,
Easton. Pa. are from to 10 per cent
lower than last year. according to the
grade and size wanted.
Competition among workmen results
in better service being given because
ii is no longer possible for a carpenter,
plumber, mason, or q plasterer TO
leave one job and go to work on an
other the next day. If he has work he
gives good service in order to avoid
being replaced by some one else. More
and better work can be secured for the
money than was possible a year ago
and expensive and eXasperating delays
have been reduced TO minimum.
CONTRACTORS FEEL PINCHED
On the other hand. many contractors
have felt the hard times and have been
forced TO take contracts at little or no
profit to keep their plants running and
their working force intact. This has
. created competition that has reduced
contractors fees pretty generally. In
prosperous times, when work is plenty,
architects and builders have so many
big contracts that they do not need to
bother with $4,000 houses, and to Sc
cure their services for the building of
a small home the owner must pay a
large fee or percentage. Today they
are. for the most part. glad to put their
best work into a small house at rea-
sonable figure.
Then there is an intangible gain for
the home builder in the quality of the
work done You can get the best of
material Nand the best of workmanship
today: in boom times this is almost i'm
possible. The Decatur. Ill, Sunday Re-
view hits the nail on the head as fol-
lows:
1t is true that you can not only
build this year for $1.7OO the house
which last year cost $4,000, but you
can also build it better. The supply OF
building mechanics is in excess of the
demand. Instead OF being obliged to
put up with any kind of mechanics the
contractor can this year get the best
II is not a matter of work crowding
the mechanics, as it has been for sew
eral years past, but of the mechanics
] cTOWuluS lne Work 1lere is ample
time, plenty of skill available, and no
incentive 70 slur the work, and a better
siob is the inevitable result. In short
you can get better quality of me-
chanical skill for your money"
MONEY MARKET Is EASIER
Many people-perhaps most people
do not pay the full price for their
homes. They prefer to build a better
house than could be had for their avail
able cash. SO they borrow on mort
gage, which experience has shown to
be a not unwise thing to do. But dur
ing the last year money has been tight
1t has been hard to borrow on mort
gage, and that is one reason why there
| has been so little building
The market is easing up perceptibly
particularly the mortgage loan market
IT is no longer difficult to get money
on first class mortgage on a new
home. This situation makes the pres
ent the best time to build. As IL be-
comes easier and easier to get money
there viii be more and more general
building undertaken by railroads and
big corporations, as well as individuals
and then up will go the price again and
1 the golden opportunity will have
passed. The present situation is strict
ly in favor of the home builder
Theodore b. Wilcox, one of the com