Evening star., 1939-06-10
Housing Act Change
Is Expected 10 Aid
Building Activity
Continuance of Pace
Ahead Of Lost Yeur
Seen by F. H. A. Chief

AllC SiSlld Uul vi lllC
National Housing Act amendments
of 1889 should assure continuation
of home construction activities dur
ing coming weeks at a pace we'll
ahead of last year. Federal Housing
Administrator Stewart Mcdonald
predicted today.
So far this year, Mr.. Mcdonald
said, the home financing activities
of the F. H. A. have shown a sub
stantial increase over the CORE
spending period of 1898. For exam
pie, mortgages selected for appraisal
during the first five months of this
year totaled $500 100000, an increase
Of 40 per cent over the 1888 900 900
selected during the same months of
1898. Mortgages accepted for insur-
ance during the first five months OF
1889 totaled s285,00O0OO. a gain of
48 per cent over the same period of
1898.
Mr.. Mcdonald expressed the opin-
ion that it was safe to predict a sus-
tanned volume of applications for
insurance of small home mortgages
and modernization loans during the
coming weeks, especially since final
enactment and presidential sigma
ture of amendments extending F..
H. A. functions due to expire June 80.
under the old law should remove any
doubt as to the continued available
itv of the most liberal financing IA
cllitles in the Nations history.
Principal Changes.
Principal features of the amended
act are:
l. Authorization for the President
TO increase to $4,000 100000 the
amount of outstanding mortgage
insurance obligations the F. H. A.
may have at one time. The present
limitation is $4,000, 900 900. and the
outstanding principal obligation at
this time is approximately s1,400,-
100000, not including approximately
100 .00O0,0 600 in outstanding COM
mltments to insure
2. Continuation of the F.. H. AS
authority to insure mortgages on ex-
listing construction until July l. 194l.
Homes financed with F. H. Ain
sured mortgages will continue to be
eligible for F. H A. financing indefi-
nitely.
3. Requirement that in the re-
financing OF mortgages the applicant
for insurance must file a certificate
that the mortgage holder has re-
FUSED to grant him equally favorable
terms.
Authority Extended.
4 Extension Indefinitely of the
authority of the F. H. A. to insure
mortgages on small homes involving
mortgages of not more than s5.4OO
for terms up to 25 years. Under the
old bill the maximum maturity of
Is years reverted to 20 years. as of
July |.
5. Authorization to continue in
surance of lending institutions
against loss on property improve
ment loans up to $500 each with
new provision empowering the ad-
mlnlStrator to charge an insurance
premium not in excess of three
fourths of per cent to offset a por-
ton Of operating expenses and
losses
s. Establishment of a prevailing
wage scale to be determined by the
Secretary of Labor on large-scale
projects (section 200.
7. Revision of the conditions
under which insurance NAV be
granted on mortgages covering
large-scale projects.
G oF
which the administrator was au-
thorlzed to insure mortgages under
special conditions in the price range
UP to 100000.
May Second Largest.
May was the second largest month
In the F. H. AS experience in point
OF both applications for small home
mortgage insurance and mortgages
actually accepted for insurance. Mr.,
Mcdonald stated. Small home
mortgages selected for appraisal to-
tailed sl09,442, ,l40, an increase of 36
per cent over April and of IA per
cent over May, 1898. Approximately
66 per cent of the number of these
mortgages represented homes to be
constructed.
Small home mortgages accepted
Tor insurance during May totaled
S73,7Ol $50, an increase of 1875 per
cent over April and of 18 per cent
over May, 1888, the largest for any
month except June, 1898. Of the
mortgages accepted for insurance in
the first five months of 1899. ap-
proximately 70 per cent covered new
homes
Premium paying small home
mortgages recorded in May totaled
$40, ,442 $50, an increase of 7 per cent
over April and of IS per cent over
May, 1888.
Property improvement loans re-
ported in May totaled $21 ,556.651 an
increase of 25 per cent over April
and of As per cent over May, 1888.
The 1Initod Cfofae ie ia,.x..;-~