Evening star., 1939-01-07
1893 Activity
Second Best
Since 1920s
$25,5l5,510 TotoI
Is Under 1897,
However
By JAMES Y. NEWTON.

The real estate ana nome Uullo.
ing business in the District enjoyed
in 1898 it's second most successful
year since the ''boom" times OF the
1920s, although the total volume OF
private construction was sharply be-
low 1887. Generally speaking, all
phases of the industry prospered
here last year, although there were
fewer buyers for higher-priced
homes, and apartment construction
was 40 per cent below 1887.
A feature of the building year was
the erection of large number OF
homes which may be termed low
cost. A number of established build
Ang firms entered the low-cost field
for the first time. AS result OF
this trend, eastern portions of the
District grew very fast during the
year. Builders found that more and
cheaper ground was available in the
Northeast and Southeast sections, so
East Washington witnessed activity
that approached ''boom" proportions.
Small homes were built in those
areas by the hundreds.
S25,515,51O Total for Year.
Total valuation of all types OF pri-
waite construction in the District, as
gagged by the monthly reports OF
Building Inspector John w. Och
mann, was $25,515,51O. This figure
for 1887 was $3l, ,168,515, the highest
since before the depression. A de-
iv, y.fy, mt CT
counted for most of this drop. Com
mercial construction also was below
the preceding IL months.
An idea of the extent of the trend
here to lower cost homes may be
gathered from a comparison of fig
ureS for one-family dwellings. In
1888 permits were issued for 2,117
dwellings in the District, nearly 400
more than in 1887. However, the
valuation of the 1898 dwellings-$12,-
D67, ,208-is $4,000 less than the cost
of one-family houses approved for
construction in 1887. OF course, it
must be considered, in analyzing this
trend to smaller homes, that build
Ing materials prices were somewhat
lower last year than in 1887.
. Sale of homes during the year kept
pace with new building. In most of
1888 there were less homes on the
market than at any time since the
building revival started here nearly
four years ago. All-time records for
home sales were established in April
and May. Brokers reported that
secondhand houses, as well as new
ones, changed hands in healthy
fashion throughout the year. Fore
eIosures in the District reached the
lowest figure in nearly decade.
Few Office Vacancies.
Office space showed an almost 100
per cent occupancy throughout 1898.
Likewise, there were few vacant
apartments during the period, al
though the percentage of vacancy
of such rental projects was some
what higher than in either 1886
or 1897.
A comparison of apartment con-
struction figures for 1887 and 1898
. is not so favorable as for family
dwellings. Permits were issued last
year for l9l apartments, valued at
s5,401 900, and capable of housing
2159 families. In the preceding year,
451 apartments, with a valuation of
s8,873,700, and a capacity of 1889
families, were erected.
In the metropolitan area of the
District, Montgomery and Prince
Georges Counties, in Maryland, and
Arlington County and Alexandria
City, in Virginia, 5,103 one-family
homes were approved by building
inspectors in 1888. This, probably,
Is the largest number of homes ever
to be erected in the section in a
single year. In the boom years of
the l920s, when there was greater
activity within the District than in
1898, the volume Of home building
In the outlying sections was only a
small percentage of what 1t is today.