Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-02
Housing Law
Seen Creating
Boom in Area

VVVIIl MAIVU
A boom in home building was
predicted today for the WASH
ington area as q result Of the
1858 Emergency Housing Bill.
enacted yesterday.
w. Evans Buchanan, presi- i
dent Of the Home Builders AS
ISOLATION, said the new act
should bring q A per cent boost |
In home construction and add
$22 million to payrolls in the |
building trades.
He said q lowering of down.
payment provisions and an in
crease of interest rates in the |
bill promises to spur erection
of $4,000 houses--both single |
and multifamily - this year. |
Last year only about 12.500
were built. he added.
Provides New Houses
This measure" declared Mr.. |
Buchanan, whose organization
includes most contractors in
the private home building field,
''hasically provides new houses
for an awful lot of people VINO
couldn't afford them hereto
fore.
"A lot of people who didn't |
have 2 or . thousand dollars |
to put down on q house now |
will be able to go ahead and
buy.
"The bill also brings nonvet- |
Grams closer to the same buying |
level as veterans. Hereto |
fore. veterans have been able |
to buy a house for 2 per
cent down. N0nveterans
working through FILA Federal
Housing Administration. have
had to pay 8 per cent down on
loans up to $4,000 and is per
cent on the next $4,000.
Nov the FILA down pay
ment is lowered to 8 per cent
on homes up to $13.500.
The practical effect Of all
this on. a nonveteran home
buyer is that he win need only
about $3.50 down on a $4,000
house. whereas he would have
needed almost $500 before
or about twice as much"
Veterans Seen Aided
On the same house, a veteran
buyer would need only about
$3.50 cash. The new act did
not alter down payment re-
quirements for veterans.
Both Mr.. Buchanan and
Joseph p. Burke. jr, president
of the District Savings and
Loan League, said veterans
would benefit from the act even
though their down payments
would not decrease.
until now" Mr.. Burke ex-
planned. 'the veterans loan
program has been practically
Q dead issue. The interest rate
az per cent? was too low.
Loaners could not make any
profits from this"
He pointed out that many
loan agencies were advertising |
dividends as high as ( per |
cent to their customers.
TO make more equitable |
transactions possible" he said, |
I'VE were able to add q fee-a
maximum of 5 per cent-to |
the amount we charged the
seller in q veterans home pur-
chase.
The new act has not only |
increased the interest rate to
434 per cent. 1t has removed |
restrictions on the amount Of |
this extra fee. This means that |
q loan can be made on q vet
Grams home purchase II the
loaner. seller and buyer can
agree on terms. It's no longer
q case of the loaner being un-
able TO make a necessary
prof1t."
Mr.. Burke also said the loan
associations in this city have
more loanable funds on hand
than they have had in some
time"
The surplus. he said, is trace
able to two factors:
]. People are saving more
and spending less.
2. Builders have not been
making loan demands in large
numbers because Of the tight
money" situation.
Mr.. Buchanan added that
with enough money available
from both potential buyers and
lenders. the builders will be
able to recoup losses Of recent
months.
Nov we've got to do a mer-
chandising job sell the
houses" he said.