Evening star., 1922-12-30
D. c. RANKS HIGH
IN BUILDING GAINS:
Seventh Among Cities, Show
ing Nearly Four Billion Con-
struction in 1922.


Reports Of building operations from
all parts Of tho country indicate q
total OF ss.s2s.o0o.oOo a. the nations
construction record for 1922. accord
ing to the S. W. Straus Company Of
New York. In round numbers the
amount exceeds tho 1921 total. pre-
vious high mark. by nearly $1.0o0.-
10000
| Washington stood seventh in the
list OF cities having large gains In
, building for the year. the capitals
increase Of approximately $1s.40o.000
| New York city. Philadelphia, Chicago,
Los Angeles. Boston and Detroit.
/ Building throughout the country
for the month of December approx
mated $200,0O0.000. a substantial in
| crease over December, 1921. despite
shows decrease over November Of
this year. This loss il apparently
only a temporary one. duo in part to
natural seasonal causes. supplement-
ed by transportation congestion.
During each month a new record has
been established.
No Building Cost Decrease.
crease in building COSTS" the Straus
Company states. 'On the contrary.
conditions point to q continuance of
the present wage scale. with . ten
dcncy. especially in the larger cities.
toward higher levels In New York
the actual and prospective shortage
of laborers is q subject Of consider
able importance to employers. The
ranks Of the skilled mechanics are
being reduced to 4 greater extent
than they are being repienished.
The fact that living costs Of wage
earners still stand at about 5S per
cent more than in 1919 should also
be noted in figuring upon a building
labor scale for the near future. Dur
ing the month of December tho price
lof labor, for the country at large. held
firmly at the November level, ire
spective OF a universal slowing down
in building operations over November
This would seem to indicate that the
tendency of the price of labor will be
upward when building operations in
the spring resume the proportions
which are anticipated
There were some slight fluctua-
tions in building material prices dur
ing December in sections where build
ing operations continued active and
freight conditions caused delay in de-
livery. On the whole there was no
general change in the price OF i'm
portant building materials.
Trend to Larger BuildinEs.
"The volume Of building permits is
sued in 1922 did not increase proper
tionately with the value Of new con-
struction. a significant illustration of
the progressive tendency toward
larger and better buildings Of all
types. i
From all parts of the country need
for more buildings of one type or an
other was reported, and it ID the
opinion Of experienced observers that
the ensuing year will witness build
ing activities Of considerable magni-
tude.
with regard to the financing Of
new building operations. the market
on first mortgage long-term real eS-
tate bonds remains firm at and 61s
per cent, according to the locality.
the ruling type being per cent in
and south. With the improved tone
in general business and the increased
demand for capital in these avenues
of trade and commerce and the lndi-
cations of continued activities OF
large proportions in the building in
market for first mortgage real estate
bonds. which emphasizes the fact that
the present is an advantageous time
to consider long-term financing OF i'm
proved properties.
From estimates and reports so far
submitted by building departments
during the closing days OF Decem-
ber. forty-seven cities showed gain
during the entire year OF more than
$2,000.000.
Comparison of Cities.
The list and gains in each city
follow:
~ n D.0 Z 81
ton. Mass. ss2.5oo. 600: Buffalo, n: Y.
$500, 900; Cambridge, Mass. $780, |
900; Canton. Ohio. s2.sOO,ooo; Chi
cago. NJ, sss:5oo.ooo: Cincinnati.
oho; sd2sooooo; cleveland , nd ooo ohio. ans
Tex, ss,5oo. 900: Dayton. Ohio, s5.soo.- /
900; Denver, Col. S7.s00,000; Detroit.
Mich. $35.s00, 600; Duluth, MINI. So
100000; Elizabeth, n. J.. s2.7o0:ooo:
Ea E Rys9 as aco da Mas' rs2i %.%I. na
s4.7oo. 900: Grand Rapids. Mich. S.
100000; Indianapolis. Ind. $780, !
900; Knoxville. Tenn, $2,s00.0oo; Lam
sing. Mich, $2.4o0.oe0; Los Angeles,
Calf, sss.ooo;ooo: Louisville: Ky.
900; Minneapolis. MINI. .s.5oo.ooo:
Newark. N. j.. s7.2oo.0oo: New Haven.
Conn. $2.loo.o0o; New York. N. z.
$4,000. 900: Oakland. Calf. Ss.zo0.oo0;
Philadelphia, Pa, $71.4o0,00o: Pitts |
burgh. Pa. S11.so0.ooo; Richmond.
Va. $5.100,000; Sacramento. Calf. |
S4,200,0O0 Seattle, Wash, $6.50O,000;
Springfield, Mass. $3.400,O00: St |
Louis. Mo-. $500. 900: st. Paul. Mimi.
$8,400.o0o; Syracuse. N. 7. 100000; |
Tulsa, Okla. Ss.100,000; Utica. N. Y.
$3.S00.000: Washington, D. c.. $1S.- |
100000; Wheeling. w. Va. $2.100.000. |
IAN analysis of December estimates |
and reports from building depart
ments in. the various cities shows /!
that the decline over November fg- |
ures was quite evenly distributed |,
over the country"