St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-11-17
Realtors Survey ExplOdes
Many Myths Regarding
Negro Housing In Cities

CcPIcu BcHSTdlILlSSJ III WHICH the
Federal Housing Agency has been
a guilty participant, the National
Association of Real Estate Boards
said today that surveys of the Ne
gro housing question by local real
estate boards indicated that the
provision of good housing for Ne
groes can be carried out as a sound
business operation and that the
Negro family that wants good
housing is usually good economic
risk.
Realtors with experience in Ne
gro housing reported to the Asso-
citation that as class, the Negro
home buyer meets his payments
faithfully - often more faithfully
than other race groups in the same
economic level-and that if his
property is in good repair when he
obtains it, he takes care of it after
he buys it. AS a tenant, he takes
as good care of such premises as
other tenants of his economic class.
To Encourage Better Housing
The Association recently
launched move to encourage bet
ter housing for Negroes. 1t urged
real estate boards throughout the
country to attempt to work out 10
cal programs in their communities
for better Negro housing and is
seeking to encourage greater in
terest in good Negro housing
among builders and financing in
situations. The association said
that it was developing its program
as business matter, based on an
economic opportunity, and that it
was not approaching the question
from a reform standpoint.
For example, majority of the
Realtors with Negro housing ex-
perience reported that there is no
reason why insurance companies
should not purchase mortgages on
properly located and managed
property to be occupied by Ne
groes. No explanation was given,
however, of what was meant by
properly located" property. Find
ing suitable sites has been one of
the bugaboos of Negro housing de-
velopment, due largely to the FILA
policy of fostering restrictive cove
nants.
Studied Is Cities
The study of Negro housing ex-
perlence was made in Is represen-
tative cities. In addition the semi
annual survey by NAREB con-
Quoted through member boards
showed lat cities out of $50, or
AZ per cent, reporting better Negro
housing as pressing need. Fifty
one per cent of the lat cities con-
fronted with the problem have
action under way" to meet it. The
shortage of all types of Negro
housing was shown by the NAREB
survey to be acute. The war has
greatly widened the number of
cities for which Negro housing is a
real and immediate problem.
NAREB's committee on Negro
Housing under the Craftsmanship of
Newton c. Farr, Chicago Realtor
and former president of the Asso-
citation, directed the study on Real
tor experience with Negroes. This
committee operates as a subcom-
mittee of NAREB's policy commit
tee, the Realtors Washington Com
mittee.
d. c. Realtors Active
The Realtors Washington Com
mittee is serving as a Clearing
house to aid communities through
out the country in the current pro-
gram of the organized real estate
industry to develop Negro housing
as a natural economic need rather
than as a program of social, politi-
cal or racial implications. Its first
recommendations to local real
estate boards proposed study and
action on the Negro housing prob
lem by measures adapted to local
needs and not by a national for
mula.
GAS result of the study of the
experiences of hundreds of our own
members who have for years sold
property to Negroes or managed
Negro rental properties, we have
now obtained the most practicable
information to be gathered" the
Association said. "a prepohder-
ance of the answers offers a posi-
tive and highly encouraging incen-
tive to meeting the Negro housing
need through responsible Realtor
building"
The Association announced the
general opinions of the reporting
boards as follows:
Seventeen out of Is cities
answered Eyes" to the question:
docs the Negro make good home
buyer and carry through his pur-
chase to completion?"
Thirteen out of 10 answered
Eyes" to the question:: "Does he
take care of his property if it is
in good repair when he obtained
it?"
Eleven out of 1S answered Eyes"
to the question: "Does he take as
good care of property as other
tenants of q comparable status 2"