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r - PR06P&CTS Pfl Il» Present s i t u a t i o n | i n housing, 1* The houtloe we now h&ve Is beixi£ uaod as f u l l y a* possible* Vacant houses and apartwents amount to l e s s than on» par cent of a l l unit* In practically a l l the place* that haw been recently* The desirable r a t i o Is about five per cent* 2+ Curing the «ar we have built about £,759,000 permanent units, but the auaber of families h&s increased by about l*#85Qt00O« Migration of population to war <wnt«rt hit er«*t«4 »«riou« houaiiv shortage in those plaoes, and practically all of the housing buiit during the «ar has been built in war activity areas« through out t^i« county, how»Ter# families haw uadoubled aad sought larger quarters as their laooraes increased, so that aaw, there are shortages, in areas felt* h&d vsry l i t t l e or sio w&r busij»ss» Prices of houses have rises); substantially airtoo 1^0 — oti the probably between UQ and 60 per cent, but in »om areas li^sre&ses ha^e been much greater* in sone places the prio«»a of the lutrer-prleed houses have iacreasod by 100 or 150 g®r oent« The Office of Priesft&ainistrati on recently f&uitd that, 4i¥®r the €mmtr>f, houses t^jieh had b««n mated aad n«re sold for <mmr»oeoup&ney sold for ll*5 tii**s the monthly rest, and in one region for 195 %£•*•! hi *om« oities the ratio mm e m hi§b«r* lha ratio ttoioh is usually ootaidered normal is 100 to 1* kesideatlal re&l fitstatu appraisers. In & recent surte^, estisastted that houses are selling; for 20 $er oent above rtproduetlaa cost* U» Beats htw been kept from rising arid are mm probably less than 5 per cefit above tfceir 191+0 level* beoause of the rise in prices of houses, iMiwever, atuay houses mrich were rested have been sold for ovaar-oooup&aio^ • In I9I4I4. •f.A. Issued 16^,000 "certifieates of eviction* T»hich axust be obtaiasd by landlords who wish te sell rented houses to persons other than the tenants* during ths first eight aonths of 19^5# 150,000 oertificatss of eviction wre issued* 5* People are aow in a position to e l i for housing, Inooiaes have been Lifh durinf- the nar and will probably oontiaue relatively high for so»e tiia* for a substantial t&aafeer of families* Families have larger holding of liquid assets sow thsm ever before, thouftfc tdber« are A great maay fsniliet «fco have m or very ssaall holdings* Many fasdlles have also reduced their indebtedness 1 eonsuasr debt is down U*5 billion dollars since 19M. &nd at least tiro b i l l leu dollars of aortjjage debt hag bees retired* -.*ther famiildt have mm into debt to the extent of sbcut 1*5 billion dollars for the building of private «ar housing* * 2 •» 6* All Indications are that a wry substantial mmfour of families are now in the snerlcet for houses • • both mm end old ••» and there oasi be no doubt that tha iittRtoer of woul4~b# buyers of houses next spring will be far in excess of our oapaoity to build net* houses* It tees* now that the largest maaber of hou*«s we 8nail be able to build in 19b&» with the best luok, i» 500,000, wlUIe fee 3:.mlle8t nuzater of ;.«ople we heut«» 1« l # 000,000 or 1,500,000* parti oip-Uon in 1* During fcb« war, tha Go-wnwent «xorciaod sa-v©r«i oontrols ov»r and r@tl<toati*l building * the Offioft of Frioa Adslaistratioa oontrollad rent«» this control is s t i l l in fore* fiuari *I:*A« h«« authority to oontinuo i t in foroo until June ;-0# 1<^6« u»F*A* does hav© any authority to control tho prim at «hieh houses art solcu i t Production Bo«r4, through Limitation Ordar L*hl9 controlled tha building which sight be dons and ohannalad iwtariais to jobs which iMira appro^rod* ladtr tbit control, tha Itotional Housing Agsaoy established rosidantial bttildinr, progrsiMi for aaoh locality, spaolfiad tha kinds of housos that ai^it ba built # and esta liahad pricee and rants ttiich could ba hat ns« boan rasciadad, «ff«otiva Ootobar 15* *o that tha Fadoral G-owrna»nt ncm has no control over tha amount of byilding whiah will ba startad, tha typo of building ifihioh will ba undartakan, tibara tha building will ba dona, or tha prioM whioh will ba ehargad* t*han lA^X was rasoiadad, Mr» Sny^ir announced a j-oint program "to spoad axpansion of tha ©obstruction industry1", but nothing saans to bava baan dona about i t , axoapt that tha 0«?*A* hm *p**&*& up i t s program of tightening i t s controls ov^r th« prioas of building materials. o» fha Offioa of Priea AduUlstratlon oontrollad tha wi-iieh «i^it ba ahargad for building «atarials ani for tha sarrioas randarad in oontraat construction. Thasa controls -mr* not outatandinjr,l3r suocassfui during tha war, but .•P.A, has tightened tha controls and strangthenad their administration, so as to oontrol inflation wtxan building starts again* d* the i i f Manpower Co^sission aivertad labor to essential jobs the war* this oontrol has baan aliminated* - 3e. this IMP Labor doara r©gwlat»d wag* rafea lnorofcsos, and this control h&s &lso b««n ali»iaat*d» Tbsro i s , howovsr* an informal agrsoaoitfc botwooa tho buildiag trados unions *nd HM -;>ffloo of &;&r Sgobilitfttiom a&d Sft-ooawrsiosi that w*ge*r i&®r*as«s will not b# demanded. I do not know of arjy dispute* OT«r wagos In th» building trados* For th# as-ar futum tho Oo¥«rs»»®nt ha* throo control* of housing r&sidontlal building* &• hont oontrolt «x©r©i»«4 by b* Control of ^t« prices of buildiag isAtorifcla, also ex^rciaed c Control of tho ftoouswdatioa of l i m a tort* s* oxoroiood by •B« This control will probably not bo u»od i f f i l i i» to wiad up It* Affairs wry aooiu 3* Thtro Itaw bo«a iz^diofttlQffli that Ml atto^ft will be n»A« In Coagrota to h*i»o O»P*A.fi authorityy to rogulato rtntt g g before o*xt Jua»« If thi* should he suoooatful, tht roaui-U will bo Mfl4at« k* Mr* Sovl»*# ''.dnlalstrAtor of O»I"'#A», has sp«k«n a good d#al rooontly about th« &««d for oontrol of th« prloos of hous«st both »sw and old, and has saiti ifaat » .A* will urgo Congress to pass a b i l l this aro wry ssrious dao^ors i s the housing wariest today, •ihs dei».nd for housos is so far in eacooss of th« master «hi«h ws ©An reasonably eaepoot to build soon, that prioos of housos aro liksly to riso furthor* la this situation, buiidsrs bidding for soaros iaat«rials will put v*ry strong prossurs on prloo eoilinga, ami blask aarkot operations* at v©ry hlgjh prioos* aro likoly» (1 n&rm i-mmrd that truekloads of briole aro mm b«lag hi*jaokod«) if prioo oontrols aro broksn, buii<linr ©osts oasily iaorsaso *o r«picily and so far es to stop building ooispl©toly# If rent oontrois aro ramovod, this situation will bo nad* T»ry worso* sirtoo familiss who i n ooatont to r@raai.xi tfoors thoy aro at prosont rents will coas into the ssarkot if rents ars incrOAsed 30 or The danger of inflatsd prioss to »ortr&&* l^orrowsrs and lendsrs is also s#rloms* WAay of thoso who hatw bought and borrowod duriag th» last thrss ysars trill probably boar losaos whon tko warkot for housos i s *Tior« aearly satisfied* and if prioos eo,mtim» to ris®, th»s«? who buy l a ths asar futuro will ioso sonsy or haw thoir nortgagss foroolosod. Landers who h&vo saiuitionod hi^-h appraisals ars likoly to suffer losses too* I t sooms osaotitiai that Goverans&t should do ^iat i t oaa to &atl costs from rising furt^or and to protect buy»rs &23d pnrvsnt prioss borrowers* a*ny of neioia will be veteran*. The firtt etep isouid eeem to be to sake eur© th&t the control! which atili ©xiat, aaraely, rest control an4 oontrol of building Material prioee* ahould be continu«d and etrengthened* Sine© i t is probably inpottlble for the Gov^rmaeat to obtain agaia th« f*«r«r ta control th« &aount and kiada of building, and pri©«» charg«^# by reviving 1W4# i t ae«B» d»airabl© that 1^ at obtain at in&oh oontroX &a potalbXa over tii« prices of hou»««« •ft BowX«»» propoaed b i l l would do thit t *.ad thou^i i t would probably b© difficult to ftfeiai»t«r, i t nmuld be better to haw t^e pon»r than to have ao po«er ^Atrter* If direct prlee control o&anot be obtained* the next beet thine ai.#*t be urnm power ^hieh tiould briai; prioes uader tJ« ecru tiny of the Federal Beating Adalnlttratien 9 «v«a If i t were required only that the teller mmt thow the buyer an appraital certified by feiUJU at p r«aaos&ble l^n;^tiine value*1. Lemiere mit^it also be required to f i l e amoh &n i•; »A. appraital with eaeh »ortgare note for the scrutiny of th* Th« removal of l~hl h&a left us m-ith only very vaak brakee on a very daa^eroutly inflationary sitaatioa. The fact that* without t^Ul or ft oontroi like i t , no meature to far thought of it e&ty to administer or likely to be eoapletely nnoeestful makes It wry poaaiole that the Oo^anaaent idll do nothing * and that i t probably th# «orat i t oouid do» R.Wood 10/5/45
@FedFRASER