Evening star., 1948-10-12

space and units" This continued
up through 1947, due to the pur-
chase money saved up that kept the
home demand high.
When will conditions of 1910 re-
turn? In another year or SO in the
Washington area, is the current
guess. But, of course, the prices will
be at the days dollar level. {.
Looking back over the last 10
years, the most important factor
as stated, is improved home financ-
ing" That has released American
production genius in the field OF
building and has made property
ownership" secure instead of the
short three-year loan and question
of renewal plus renewal fees.
FHA Loans Praised.
The FHA-insured, long-term loans
and others make it possible through
small monthly payments for prac-
tically any one to weather financial
conditions. The sense of security or
the part Of millions of property
owners has had an untold amount Of
steadying influence on American life
The appearance of the large de.
veloper on the Metropolitan home
building scene has conceded, nat.
urally, with the gradual disappear.
ance Of the little builder" who wa.
completely knocked out during
the war.
The little builder will soon emerge
in his new role as custom builder
and prefab erector in the great
postwar field.
Your home on your lot: will b.
the slogan. The demand in thil
field is great today, although few
have come forward to meet it. Tn.
small builder, with his house sole
before construction, runs little or M
risk; while the large builder run
less risk by reaching into the lower
cost field, made possible by mas
production. Changes always brini
progress.
Although prefabrication receive,
tremendous shot in the arm dur
ing the war, up to the present it
efforts have been somewhat disap
pointing, at least, in so far as com
peting with site prefabrication.
In general, homes are better de-
signed for their size today than II
the past. Their structural qualit,
is on . more engineered basis
Homes contain more mechanica
equipment than in the past. Heat
ing units have been vastly improvet
and new methods Of heating ar,
constantly under experiment.
The day Of the uninsulated hom,
new house today is sold with re
frigerator and range included. II
the higher price field are foun.
mechanical disposal plants, washin,
machines and occasionally an auto
matte roner and dryer. All thi
means that q more complete hom'
Is bought today than before, and /,
great deal more h included in tn
sale price.
The home in the Washington
metropolitan area is also carryinl
a much heavier load than before
with increased utility charges sucl
as the Washington Suburban SAM
tary Commissions increase in con
nection charges of from $94 to $23C
/ Prices have been forced highe
everywhere through increased stree
improvement requirements. For in
stance, the new Prince George
County road specifications will pu
another $3.50 on the home purchaser
In Alexandra, where streets an,
utilities were to q great extent car
ried by the local government, the
now must be put in by the builde
and paid for by the new home pur
chaser.
There are two reasons for sucl
actions: Cd to build better countie
at less cost to the county; and q
to keep low-cost developments out
With the trend and market definite
ly turning to the low-cost field, tn
problem of "site" becomes more an
more difficult. Every one woul
rather see the low-cost housin
elsewhere.
Large Developer an Asset.
There is primarily one person VIII
can do something about this an
that is the large developer. Nor
careful site selections will be mad
with an eye to development cos
rather than original price of grounc
Production will be carefully studie
and planned. There win be max
imum use of power and a constan
fight for engineered building speci
f1cations commensurate with low
cost housing.
Just how close the general publ
will come to getting dream home
as pictured by the high-pressur
home" magazines is hard to CUES!
But one thing is sure: The publ
will be getting q better plarnec
equipped and more efficiently pro
duced home in the future.