The Washington times., 1920-06-09
BU|[O|NGBOOM
STILL REMOTE
Three Causes Blamed for lnac.
tivity-5,000 New Homes
City's Estimated Need.
By DAN E. o'CONNELL.

There will not be 4 revival OF build
tng In Washington on anything like
large scale until conditions through
but the country adjust themselves.
This is the opinion Of real estate
brokers. bankers and builders in the
city.
Some blame the rent commission,
tome the financial situation. and
others the high cost of labor and the
scarcity OF materials. And each
opinion has authority to support It's
statements.
All estimates OF the number OF
small dwellings needed to put wash
ington back on its pre-war basis OF
housing seem to agree. And 1t 10
the only thing that all agree on. The
estimate IL 5000 houses.
Those who blame the rent commits
sion say that the commission Is csus-
ing builders and investors to hold
back because they do not know how
the commission will regulate rents.
and therefore cannot estimate what
property will yield.
Builders Need Funds.
Those who blame the financial
> situation point to the fact that build
ing Is proceeding on a small scale ana
, cite instances of builders who are
ready to carry on operations as soon
as they can obtain the necessary
funds. That they are not getting the
funds is due. some bankers say. to
the large interest that ready money is
now commanding In large financial
centers.
The ones who blame the high cost
Of labor and materials say that the
price of each has advanced from 80
to rs per cent. The scarcity In ma
terials is chiefly in brick and cement.
This 10 due. they say. to the lack Of
freight cars.
The rent commission has done more
harm than good, say those who blame
point to the decisions Of the commits
sion to bear out their statements.
These decisions they say. have not
materially reduced the rents, but have
had a panicky effect on builders.
Conditions would have adjusted
themselves in few months. they say.
and the commission has not made
enough decisions to materially help
but few persons.
Financial Situation Blamed.
That it 10 the financial situation,
and nothing else. Is attested by the
tact that builders are holding off
building operations only until they
get money to begin operations. say
some OF the leading banking and In
vestment officials in the city. One
banker cited the fact that he had per-
sonal knowledge OF four large build
ers, who had plans drawn for apart
ment houses and dwellings and were
ready to 60 to work at once, IL they
could obtain the necessary capital to
finance them until the completion OF
their projects. Another banker gave
instances Of building that was now
going on in Washington, showing that
The rent commission had nothing to
do with the lack OF realty operations
here. Still another had statistics from
other cities showing building at the
same low ebb that 1t 10 here, and the
cities for which he had figures have
no rent commission and are not bur-
dened with restraining laws as to the
amount of rent they can get from
their properties.
The lack Of materials seemed to
cause majority OF complaints. This
view also is reflected ut the District
Building, where several building
projects probably will be delayed on
account Of the shortage of materials.
City short OF Supplies
Snowden Ashford. municipal archi-
tect, said this morning that all the
department OF the District govern
ment that use cement have been no.
tined that a scarcity exists In WASH
ington in this commodity and that
they will have to share supplies with
each other.
Building materials are as scarce as
they are high, one builder said today.
AS soon as a consignment Of brick
arrives in Washington, IL 1t Is not
already billed to some builder. as Is
usually the case, 1t Is quickly taken
up. he said. Builders are bending
every effort to get sufficient materials
in Washington, he said, and as soon
as the freight congestion eases up
bit, this difficulty will disappear.
"If there was such a thing as a
cold storage for brick and other
building materials" said one realty
operator, at would probably be the
only cold storage proposition that
would not come in for the almost
monthly lambasting from the public