Montgomery County sentinel., 1946-07-18
L0t-Price Rise
Bar to Housing
Wyatt Cites 400 City Study
Showing 10000 Leap in
Cost of Plots.

WASHINGTON. Inflated prices
Of home sites threaten TO become the
biggest barrier to low-cost housing
for veterans and other prospective
home buyers. says Wilson W. Wy
att. housing expediter.
Prices OF lots. and residential acre
age have increased even faster than
the prices OF houses. This Is not
limited to few big, over-crowded
cities. Some small cities report q
greater increase than the large
cities.
A survey Of more than 400 cities
by the national housing agency In
dicates that from September. i945,
to February, 1946, the price Of lots
went up an average Of 23.3 per cent.
In the six years from 1910 to l940
the average price advance was els
per cent. A lot which sold for $500
in 1910 brought about 1928 last
winter.
Lots Up 300 Per Cent.
IN some small cities prices for
lots and acreage scared 800 per
cent during the WARRIOR example,
from $500 to $2.400. One-haH Of
the cities reporting in the MIA sur
vey indicated lot and land prices
had advanced so per cent or more.
Prices Of existing houses which
sold for less than 5000 in 1910 In
creased an average Of S. per cent
by l946 Prices In the 50, 600 81, 900
class rose 81 per cent. Most COM
munities reported that the rate Of
increase was turning upward sharp
ly early this year. This Is not the
whole story.
The veterans emergency housing
law recently enacted by congress
aims particularly at reasonably
low construction costs for the 2,7O0,-
600 houses to be started by private
industry in ig46 and i0H.
The law authorizes $500. 0OO, 1000 ii
government subsidies to spur the
production of building materials.
Subsidies also win be paid to en-
courage production Of new types Of
materials which may bring ordinary
costs down.
The law also provides price cell.
ings on new houses and a guarantee
by the government OF q market for
low-cost prefabricated houses.
Mr.. Wyatt asked congress for
ceilings on lots and on existing
houses but the new law doesn't pro-
vide them.
Uncle Sam Needs Help.
Mr.. Wyatt contends that while In
hation in existing house prices
might be tempered when the vet.
erans' program gets going in vol
ume, the resulting demand for a
place to build new houses could
force land prices to extraordinary
levels"
Mr.. Wyatt says the federal gov
ernment will have to get q lot Of
help from local communities on the
housing-site problem. He suggests
that one way Is for local commit
tees to see that a good portion Of
the new housing goes into cities
themselves instead Of their suburbs.
He points out that In ~ cities rang
ing in population from SO, 900 to Chi
cago's 100000 the average per-
cehtage Of total city area that is
vacant Is AT.
Much OF this land" he says, sis
accessible TO work centers and cas-
Dy can be made desirable other
Wise. lis use Is now blocked by
high asking prices based on an ex- !.
ssgerated hope Of future use, scat
Iered and complex ownership, bad
and titles, unpaid taxes and inade-
lrste play space
MIA reports that more than 200
emergency housing COM
nittees are working on some Of
hese problems.
The maximum ceiling on new
ZONES is $4,000 for a single-famiiy
iwelling and $50 month for a rent
u unit.