El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-02-22
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES;
IT IS TIME TO BE BUILDING HOUSES

mgr +i. i r5gbt At land when FL Paso will resume
buil5ne-hores particularly That Is where the short
srs is nov New business buildings up and old ones
are enlarged as business needs dictate and there is no par
ticular shortage here in that line.
But construction Of homes stopped with the war The
demand feI off to extent went into the army
and workers left here for other fields What call there
vas for houses satisfied through sales OF those al
ready built Then again. Of building material ad-
ganced and that worked against construction Tor IN
most II cheaper TO buy something already out
than 10 attempt build And people who had been
thinking about owning their homes postponed realizing
that hope and put their money into Liberty bonds
Conditions changed since the signing Of the ars
ce and e Paso needs construction rather than recon-
sructoz The demand for good houses IS greater thah
the supply Of good houses That to be the con-
sensus opinion Of realty dealers who say they have more
calls from prospective home buyers than good houses at
fair pre to that demand There always plenty
Of houses listed that quite desirable and others de-
EiTable but priced high Good homes, well located and
priced night IN demand.
With more and more people coming into town and
prosperity increasing every day, it Is evident the call for
houses VII become more and more lnslstent There vii
@ more buying Of homes and very much more demand
for houses rent These also becoming scarce though
they were fairly plentiful during the war.
Every indication points to building revival One OF
to companies specializing in home construction have
sumed and other firms and individuals with well 10
Gated lots should follow the lead The resumption Of paw
g With many streets about be transformed from rocky
Tozds 70 smooth, easily Travelled highways, viii make al
the nhbong property highly desirable for residence
poses with particular reference lots lying idle
This IS the view being taken in other southwestern
cities notably Tucson and Phoenix where building IN
progress It Is true that the cost Of building materials
has not dropped appTeab, while the cost Of labor as
high ever
The advance in the cost Of materials however was
great feared the time building stopped
OF ITSELF It would not have stopped building programs in
The various cities Of the country It about 20 percent
which noticeable enough but great that in
many other lines Where building is being resumed, It is
hng taken for granted that If builders wait for prewar
prices they nay wait for years and that the best they
% is eliminate any considerable drop costs from their
calculations and 20 ahead and build They may be wrong
AID there nay be sudden decline IN the price Of lumber
especially II the government does not put through
ccas but they do not believe they wrong Moreover
IN city where the houses brick lumber is only
secondary item that factor does not need be consd
cred as much as IN places where frame structures pTedom
Ezte-
Other large Texas cities enjoyed more prosperity than
- Paso during the and kept building They are
s building and unless decided revival hits this city
and quickly, too, shall be s long way behind
Conditions IN Fl Paso first class nov and are i'm
proving all the time. Building should keep pace with
growth II population and business activity
There those who say the ordinary run Of prospect
I've home buyers N Fl Paso able to buy now
tHan Ehen they were acquiring savings stamps and Lib
cry bonds that they are putting every they can
1ae INTO Oh stocss that CT them have the gam
bling fever severely that they even negecting paw
1g Their current bills in order to put the money into oil
stocks
That IS an exaggerated statement tue In individual
eases perhaps but not to be put down as general con-
olton Il II we're possible to canvass the whole town on
me matter II would probably be found that most of its
people have put into oil stock and that 7sny
q those who have invested have made only shsIIov
plunge b no means risking all they have Twenty-Five
collars 70 s10O apiece most Of the oil psubBg
lih comparatively few going high as $500 to $1,000
That Is no bar against home building and home buv
Building road is only part Of the task The other
ar Is keeping It II repair and every community that en-
eaTks On roaebuding ought make financial provisiou
1or maintenance Of the highways