Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-05-30

On Sunday The Herald published a story OF
building Improvements in the city which indicates
not that business conditions locally are about to i'm
prove, but that they have improved. The building
of homes, so long delayed, has been resumed and is
well under way. Residences having a value OF over
a quarter of a million dollars are now under con-
%struction, and a similar satisfactory condition pre-
walls in East Grand Forks and in the country dis
tricts adjacent
For years this community, in common with
others, has experienced a scarcity of dwellings.
Population has kept on increasing, but the building
of new homes has Jagged. Building was least act
I'VE when business in some other departments was
at its peak, and when money was more plentiful
than it had ever been before. Money was spent
freely for many of the Injuries as well as the neces-
saries of life while the very families which were do
ing the spending were 1nadequately', ana IN some
cases very uncomfortably housed. All prices were
high. Commodities which were necessary or desir-
able for immediate consumption were purchased
quite freely, but permanent investment was avoid
ed wherever possible because of the conviction that
existed that there must soon be a very material re-
duction in priees, and the property obtained at the
peak prices would necessarily be held at a loss:
Only in the most urgent cases would people build
houses and face the prospect of having their value
shrink hundreds, or even thousands OF dollars, with
in a very few years.
That condition has passed. Prices have dropped
and there is every indication that the low stage has
been passed. 1t is a fact that there is a general stiff
fleming of prices in many lines. There has been a
slackening in many lines OF business, but the tact
that people are now turning their attention TO the
building of homes is the most encouraging sign that
has been seen in a long time.
The quantity Of building now under way in
Grand Forks, while very satisfactory for this sea-
son. is merely a beginning. Other buildings are in
prospect for later in the season, and the outlook is
exceedingly favorable. a~@
What is going on in Grand Forks is merely a
sample of what is in progress all over the country.
People are building. More especially, they are
building homes. The general tendency is toward
the building of comfortable, tasteful, moderately
priced homes. Here, by far the greater number of
buildings being erected are five or six room houses,
modern, costing from So $500 to $1,000. That means
that permanent accommodations are being provided
for a large number of families. In very many eases
these homes are to be occupied by the owners, al
though several are being built for rent.
The resumption of building on this scale indi-
Gates that the people of the country generally have
concluded that prices have reached a level where
building is safe. The quantity of building being
done is providing remunerative occupation for a
vast army of people in every conceivable branch Of
industry. Not only are workmen' employed direct
ly on the construction of these houses, but other
workmen are employed in the production of the ma
terial which is to enter into them. There is notsa
branch of industry or ommerc which is not slim
ulated by this activity, and the beauty Of it is that
almost every part of it represents increased earn.
ings rather than the using up of savings.