The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-12-16
NoHousinq
 Boost Until Next Spring
ny eIERRAfAN LONDON

Even with the lifting Of veterans DFIogisies and the removal of ais most aii building restrictions, hots. ing iTl this area wili probably not show any great increase. until the Spring, Building Inspector John T, Hartley said today. This is the of season for new construction, he explained,
 Firms who have obtained permits t0 construct cellars viii probably 90 ahead with the houses. but for the most part, new housing viii be at q low ebb through the Winter
 Local contractors who were asked hos the new regulations would af- feet them maintained that the ma. tefiai shortage was the major fac- tor to be overcome before housing could show any definite progress, if the present shortages continue, housing wiIi still be tied tip regard less of the cancellation of veterans pTioFitIes.
 Besides the shortage, the only materials available at present have been of inferior grade. One con- tractor stated that the construction industry hasn't been able to deliver quality merchandise at any price. People may be willing to pay more Q build . home ct present, but when they must pay more for in- ferior goods, they gre hesitant. he said.
 Rule Change
 Until nov the only thing the vet- era1s priority meant vas that he got the privilege of constructing a house normally worth 5000 or ee.- OOO for efO,OOO. Because the vet erans were unable to find any rents. they were forced to buy at these ab- normal prices. Tn the meantime. the war worker who had money and who was willing to build a home was unable to do SO.
 For the most part. builders be- Ileyed that the lifting Of veterans priorities would help them more ifl- directly than the prIorities ever did People who have the money to build homes viii do 90 and will eventually make rental apartments available. Almost all surveys which have been conducted have shown that the average veteran would much rather rent a home than buy one Added to this unwillingneSs to buy has been the fact that a great many veterans have been financially u1- able to purchase a home.
 AbnormaIly high prices for ma teTialS has been a major factor in keeping construction down. One contractor stated that he has been advertising several new homes as being for sale and has not had any customers for them. He reported that the housing demand is prob- ably half what the public thinks. People just don't want to buy at the present prices.
 Future Plans
 For the most part builders said they would continue building on more or less small scale as they have been doing. Large scale hous- ing will have to await the arrival Of more plentiful materials Of higher quality a. much lower costs.
 During the past six months. per- mitS have been issued for the con- siruction of 120 one-family houses. Because of material shortages. the greatest number of these are iIl- complete. Most of them should be finished by Spring. Directly or in- directly these new homes will fur nish living accommodations for over 200 families in the city. The com- pletion of almos. every new home will afford accommodations for two families. As this continues through out next Summer when building should reach a peak in the city. the housing shortage will be gradually solved. One builder believed that by the end of lo47 the situation in Wa terbury should be almost completely cleared up.