Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-07-10
AREA INFLUENCES
BUYING OF HOMES
Attitude of Neighbors Is
Found Big Determining
Factor.

CHICAGO, July 10.-Cities III which
more Of the wage earners than of the
business and professional families of
the same income own their homes have
come to light. They are convincing
the Home Building and Home Owning
Committee of the United States Build
ing and Loan League that the popu-
larization of owned homes must reach
up to the top incomes as well as down
to the smallest incomes on which
ownership is possible
In message to the leagues mem
Der savings, building and loan associa-
tons this week the committee points
to some surprising figures which the
Bureau OF Labors urban study of
consumer purchases has brought out.
Reports from five cities in the 10000
to $4,000 group have been made public
in this survey and they show that
community habits have a great deal
to do with the way families take to
the idea of buying a home, the COM
mittee says.
Neighbors Important.
In addition to the obvious factor
OF the family's ability to pay for a
home in the light of the cost of living
and its own income, the attitude of
It's nelghbors seems to have definite
force in the matter" commented Ed
ward c. Baltz of Washington, chair
man of the building and loan leagues
committee. Among the business and
professional people with incomes be-
tween $4,000 and 5000 in three of
the five cities surveyed, a smaller per-
centage were home owners than
among the wage earners making the
same money. In two of these same
cities like contrast is seen between
the home owning habits of the pro-
tessional and wage earning groups
with incomes between $500 and
$4,000.
Savings and loan associations
which are closer to the homecoming
ambitions and practices of the work.
ing man have long felt that this group
formed much more of the backbone
OF the home ownership movement
than is generally recognized. This
helpful study by the Bureau of Labor
gives supporting evidence.
In two of the five cities studied
here more than 40 per cent of the
Wage-earners with incomes between
$1,000 and $500 a year were home
owners, and both were cities around
10000 population where nearly half
OF the population was in this occupa-
tional group.
Cities which rate low in home own
ershlp for all occupational groups
SHOW comparative lows among the
business and professional group which
Is pest able to afford ownership. Here
we find the influence of habit. Thus
IN the city with the best record, 49.5
per cent OF all families living under
their own roofs, the business and
professional group are 53.2 per cent
nome owners, the clerical workers are
AT per cent and the wage earners
4S8 per cent home owning. But at
the other extreme, where only "a per
cent OF any Of the families own their
homes, and only IS per cent of the
professional and business people, only
2l.9 per cent of the clerical workers
and only 10 per cent of the wage earn
ers make the homecoming group"
Baltz's committee urged that the
savings and loan associations concen-
trate their efforts upon interpreting
nome ownership in the light of pres
ent-day aims and ambitions. He
pointed out that the leagues Commit
tee on Trends is investigating many
OF the pertinent factors which guide
people to or from home ownership.
with the idea of making such data
available to the 1000 savings, build
ing and loan associations which are
primarily interested in financing home
ownership,