Evening star., 1935-09-21
HOME MORTGAGE
LOANS QUADRUPLE
Associations Report Heavy
Volume Since April,
League Says.

Since April of this year savings,
building and loan associations have
maintained a volume of mortgage
loans for home construction four
times as large as their performance
for the like period last year, the
United States Building and Loan
League, national organization of the
associations, reports.
I. Friedlsnder, Houston, president
of the league, estimates that $78,-
100000 has been diSbursed by the as
sociations during this period for the
construction of approximately $4,000
new homes, largely of the one-family
and two-family type, basing his OBJ
servations on the reports from State
leagues of associations now available.
THE percentage of improvement
varies considerably with the locality"
said Mr.. Friedlander. 1--WE find few
cities where the associations are able
to place out in home mortgage loans
every dollar which is available to
them, and in these cases there is an
increasing percentage of home con-
Struction loans in the total disburse-
ments. In other sections the aSSocla-
tions are still finding it hard struggle
to unearth good risks and where this
is the case there seems to be little
demand for funds to finance new
building. Most of the localities re-
port conditions somewhere in between
these two extremes.
Building Costs Factor.
variations in the cost of building
according to locality undoubtedly have
considerable influence on the situa-
ton, the sustained high costs in
many areas acting as retarding fac
tors. The diversity of conditions is
also partially explained by locking
back on the situation in that partic-
ular locality six or seven years ago.
Many of our smaller cities did not
go as deeply into the hySteria OF the
building boom in the 20s as did
others and consequently, after the
past six years practical cessation of
building, they are in the position OF
needing rather badly a substantial
volume of new residential units.
For these reasons, it is dangerous
to generalize for the Nation in regard
to the home construction situation
or to make sweeping plans embracing
over-built and under-built sections
alike in new schemes to stimulate
home building. Local financing in
stitutions are in the best position Of
all students of the problem to see the
true causes of the demand for or lack
of home building in their particular
area.
Associations Finance One-third.
"The disbursements by savings,
building and loan associations since
the Spring building season opened up
for the country as a whole, when
compared with the Dodge figures on
total residential construction for the
period, appear to have financed at
least one-third of the total volume OF
all new residential units. Their DOM
mating influence in the small unit
field of one and two family houses is
considerably higher than this 1873
per cent since they confine their
loans to this type of property, and
the Dodge figures include apartment
buildings as we'll"
Mr.. Friedlander indicated that the
home construction going on today
must be carefully guarded as to quail
ity in order to prevent financing on
basis of false values which was one
of the striking errors in the 1920s.
He said that the Standards of Prac-
tice Committee of the United States
Building and Loan League will pre-
sent report at the Cincinnati con-
vention in November devoted to the
IDEA of supervision of construction by
the mortgage lender.