Evening star., 1937-03-27
BUILDING IMPETUS
Of F. H. A. HAILED
Small Homes Boost Held
Intelligent Aid to
Industry.

during the last two years has given
the small homes building movement
the most intelligent direction and the
greatest impetus which 1t has ever
had. according to DR.. Wilson Compton
of the National Lumber Manufacture
ers' Association. There has been no
lack of willing and competent build
ers. says Dr. Compton, but the sound
basis for Nationwide movement for
low-cost homes has been lacking. The
F. H. A. has largely supplied this.
I'm the first place, it has largely
converted the country to the superior
soundness, economy and security of
the single, amortized mortgage, DR..
Compton continued.
Second, its mortgage insurance
plan has facilitated lower mortgage
interest rates generally.
Third, it has made considerable
progress toward popularizing the idea
of inspected construction.
Fourth, it has, through its tech
nical investigations and economic sur
veys. important principles of economy
in design of small homes from which,
over period of years, millions of
home builders and home owners should
largely benefit.
Overpricing Combated.
"The history of low-cost housing, as
is well known, has been full of shoe
string operations, jerry building, spec
ulation, illogical financing. Hence, in
many localities, the effort to sell to
people who could afford only $4,000
houses houses at Sc, 1000 or higher, with
the result often of the dismal cycle
of foreclosures or Of unhappy family
struggle to keep homes which had
cost too much.
"A year ago the Federal Housing
Administration, through its technical
division, published pamphlet on the
principles of designing small homes.
These principles, if followed, were
stated to mean large economies in
cost, and accompanying them were
attractive designs of small homes,
ranging from four to six rooms, which
the Federal Housing Administration
declared, under average conditions,
could be built at costs ranging be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000, not includ-
ing lot.
This publication at first produced
more controversy than building. Some
critics said it can be done; more said
it can't.
The lumber industry concluded to
find out. So it undertook to build
the three basic F. H. A. designed
houses at Bethesda, Washington
suburb We started this primarily for
our own information. We kept exact
record of costs. We published the
results.
800 Offers to Purchase.
when it became apparent that,
starting with cash or credit and de-
sign and specifications determined for
economy, we could built these three
houses at a total cost less than the
Federal Housing Administration esti-
mate and do it in a community where
building costs are higher than the
national average, we found that what
had been started as simple labora-
tory experiment in Small-home build
ing had become somewhat of SEN
sation Without solicitation We had
over 800 requests to buy these three
small homes.
Since this demonstration in the
National Capital had had such strik-
ing results, we thought that the
benefits would be largely multiplied if
similar demonstrations were under
taken in other communities. We con-
suited the Federal Housing Admins
tration and a number of building ma
terial dealers and builders.
In February, in cooperation with
the National Lumber Dealers ASsocia-
ton, We undertook the Nationwide
effort to secure the building of DEM
onstration small homes. We first
talked eXtravagantly of such demon
strations in hundred key cities.
Others suggested we aim at 500. 1t
was decided to make it thousand.
Six weeks later more than 1000
lumber dealers and builders in 48
States have by written application,
declared their intention 10 build over
4,5O0 of these demonstration small
homes in thousands of communities.
To this number hundreds are being
added each week. We are supplying
each builder not only with the record
of our experience with the first three
demonstration economy homes in Be-
thesda, but also with the complete
and exact specifications for founda-
tionS, structure, furnishing, wiring,
plumbing, heating and landscaping.
These specifications represent the best
judgment of these industries for econ-I
omy consistent with good quality of
materials and sound construction.
The Federal Housing Administra-
ton, through its technical, economic
and educational services during the
past few years, has made this small
homes movement possible. Heretofore
the best intelligence of the building
industry and the building professions
has been directed to the houses in
the higher price ranges But the own
ership of homes costing more than
$4,000 is not now accessible to more
than 80 or 40 per cent of our people,
The unique feature of the present
movement is that it is confined ex-
clusively to the less than $4,000 type
of homes, q field which heretofore
has been bissfully ignored by the
building professions. With the aid
of Federal Housing Administration
financing, mortgage insurance and
educational facilities, it promises to
convert into Nationwide realizat ton
the idea of low-priced individual
homes. Not only so but it is doing
this within the four corners of the
building industry as now constituted.
1t secures the benefits of superior
design and low-cost financing and in
many communities the economies Of
mass production. 1t may eventually
reach the entire group of the people