Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-04-08
Private Home BUILDING
Dqo Below Federal
Costs, Gerho|z Says

Robert P Gerholz, president of
the National Association of Home
Builders, today declared private
builders are ready to provide homes
Tor low-income families at 20 to IS
per cent less cost than the same
dwelling units could be provided by
public housing agencies.
His statement was based ION evil
dence from scores of cities through
out the country" He specifically
mentioned this city by saying:
I'm Washington, conceded by
many to have the worst slums in
the Nation, a group of more than
80 OF the Capitals most prominent
home builders appeared before a
Senate subcommittee and pledged
their willingness and demonstrated
their ability to build in the brief
period of six years enough low-coSt,
low-rent housing to accommodate
every family now living there in
substandard and slum dwellings.
Similar commitments have been re-
ceived from other groups of build
ers in every section of the country.
Private enterprise can build bet
ter and at considerably less cost
than Government housing agencies,
principally because of their much
lower operating and overhead
charges and because the profit mo-
tive has trained private builders to
operate efficiently and take full adj
vantage Of all possible economies In
construction" Mr. Gerholz added.
Governmental red tape, overlap
ping authority and inefficiency add
enormously to the cost of building
and there seems to be no way to
prevent waste" he said.
Barriers Cited.
I'm the past private builders have
been unable to help to the extent
they desired in Kidding the Nations
cities of slums because they have
not been able to exercise the power
Of eminent domain needed to clear
slum areas. Congress now recog-
nizes this handicap and undoubted-
ly will attempt to remove this OBJ
stacle so that the job of rehousing
families now residing in sluns or
substandard dwellings can be speed
ed up" he said.
Performance records also indicate
that the low-cost housing program
will get under way far faster when
the job is intrusted to private en-
terprise. Public housing agencies
often require six months to a year
to reach the stage where construc-
ton actually starts. Private build
ers, with their own funds tied upI
In the projects start work quickly
as they cannot afford to have their
working capital tied up during al
prolonged period of construction.
Builders everywhere are COM
plotting plans for huge postwar
program of residential construction
with the result that large volume
of home building will get under way
as soon as materials and manpower
are available. Although low-cost
housing undoubtedly will constitute
a large share of the total housing
constructed, there also will be AMI
unprecedented number of fine homes
placed under construction soon after
the war ends and restrictions are
removed" Mr.. Gerholz concluded:
I'm terms of employment the home
building industry will play domi-
nant and vital role in the Nations
postwar adjustment period.
There is good reason to believe
that the tremendous savings of tax
payers money to be realized by
turning full responsibility for re-
housing slum families over to pri-
vate builders is fully recognized by
the leaders in Congress who are
preparing to legislate in this i'm
portant field" he said. THE next
step is for the builders to demon
strate clearly to their communities
that they are willing to devote al
large part of their efforts to this
important segment of the residen-
tial construction field.
Experience gained in building
low-cost, low-rent housing during
the war construction program has
shown many private builders for the
first time that they can well afford
to construct and rent these prop
critics, provided they are built in
sufficient quantities to permit the
narrow margin of profit and OPP
Grating expense which such ventures
involve