San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-02
FALL BUILDING
IS LIKELY TO
BREAK RECORD
Unprecedented Activity Ex-
pected Soon, Reports
Frost Carvel. 70
SHOULD INVEST NOW
Building Material Prices
Have Better Chance for
Advance Than Decrease.

=. is the general belief of conrrac-
tors and material men that there will
be an unprecedented amount of new
| buil(:iig in San Antonio and South
west Texas this fall, says Frost W.
Carvel, home builder.
"There is every occasion to believe
that construction in San Antonio TINS
! fall VIII exceed that of the correspond
ing seasons of prior years." says Mr.
! Carvel, "and good start has already
| been made in construction of Office
buildings, apartment houses and resi-
! dences.
"San Antonio still needs many pct
ter class homes, both for rental ana
1 residential purposes. The houses tnat
are for rent are few and far between
and many are usually in run down
| and unlivable condition. The need Tor
rent houses and for apartments is al
WAYS acute in the fall and winter
months and the supply is never equal
to the demand. San Antonio really
needs several large apartment houses
of eight and ten stories. A few beau
| tiful apartments would do more to
attract tourists than most any other
one item.
Investor Can Net Lose Here.
AIN the home building field there
seems to be a tendency to slacken,
especially during the summer months.
| for which there seems to be no reason
except for the fact that people seem
to be afraid to go ahead when busi-
ness is not quite as good as it usually
is after crops are gathered. But TINS
is a big mistake as San Antonio has
always been a conservative city anu
has always had steady, substantial
growth, which, in the eyes of invest
ment bankers, is the biggest asser any
town can have. We have reached the
stage where we are in the big city
class. In any city with the many
advantages and assets San Antonio
Fhas, there is not one chance in mil
lion to cause any investor to lose.
at is my opinion that San Antonio
has more real assets than any other
city of its size in the United States.
! These assets are all known to people
who have lived here any length of
time. Things such as our extensive
trade territory our proximity to Mex
leo. and the Rio Grande Valley, and
the future deep water port at Corpus
Christi; our wonderful climate; beau
. tiful scenery; good water, and an over
whelming amount of home capital;
| Medina dam, the sportsman's para
disc; our closeness to Kcrrville, the
hill country. and last but not least,
the old historical landmarks that are
the cause of so many tourists making
their annual pilgrimage to San An
tonic. Therefore, it seems foolish for
any normal minded person TO make
remark that an investment in San An
| tonic real estate or the erection of
business building or home in this city
might not be profitable from finan-
cial standpoint.
Prices May Advance.
Again, it seems that prospective
builders seem to think that building
costs will dro9 to the point that they
once reached before the war. This is
mistaken idea, according to those
who have made a study of the price
situation. Whenever the demand for
an article exceeds the supply. it is
logical to believe that prices will like
" 60 up instead of down. This is
the situation in regard to building
material. In the fall, building is at
its height in the South, and in the
spring and summer, is at its height in
the North. Naturally there is not
much chance for a let up in the build
ing line and there will be no chance
whatever for costs TO decrease, IT.
stead, very likely. there will be an
increase. So TO those who are COLI
jtemplating the erection OF building
y in San Antonio. it would be a good
idea to forget the fact that San An
tonic property will decrease in value.
Sbut instead is rapidly on the increase.
Instead of waiting for building prices
to come down, it would be good idea
to jump at the chance TO build at the
present time when costs are lower
than they probably will be in the fu-
ture."