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Vol. 6 dmm&> No. 7 FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK REVIEW APRIL 1940 ISSUED BY FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK BOARD WASHINGTON D.C. CONTENTS FEDERAL HOME REVIEW Published monthly by the FEDERAL HOME L O A N BANK BOARD John H. Fahey. Chairman T. D. Webb. Vice Chairman F. W. Catlett W. H. Husband F. W, Hancock, Jr. FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK SYSTEM FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS W 1940 Milwaukee faces its real e s t a t e problem I n v e s t m e n t s of life insurance companies T h e home construction exhibit—a public service Trends in residential vacancies—1939 T h e third a n n u a l " H u n t for F a c t s " Page 214 217 221 224 229 STATISTICS Residential construction a n d home-financing activity General business conditions U. S. savings bonds Residential construction Small-house building costs New mortgage-lending activity of savings a n d loan associations Foreclosures 230 232 232 233 233 233 234 Mortgage recordings 234 Federal Savings a n d Loan System Federal Savings a n d Loan Insurance Corporation Federal H o m e Loan Bank System 235 236 236 Statistical tables: Nos. 1, 2: N u m b e r a n d estimated cost of new family dwelling u n i t s . . . No. 3: Small-house building costs Nos. 4, 5: E s t i m a t e d lending a c t i v i t y of all savings a n d loan associations . No. 6: Index of wholesale price of building materials No. 7: M o n t h l y operations of Federal a n d insured State-chartered associations 244 No. 8: Institutions insured by t h e Federal Savings a n d Loan Insurance Corporation 244 No. 9: Lending operations of t h e Federal H o m e Loan B a n k s No. 10: Government investments in savings a n d loan associations . . . . Nos. 11, 12: H o m e Owners' Loan Corporation Nos. 13, 14: Mortgage recordings 245 245 245 246 FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN INSURANCE CORPORATION HOME OWNERS' LOAN CORPORATION APRIL SPECIAL ARTICLES LOAN BANK FOR 238 240 242 243 REPORTS A p p o i n t m e n t of Directors Directory of member, Federal, a n d insured institutions added during F e b r u a r y March F r o m t h e m o n t h ' s news 216 220 228 Resolutions of t h e Board 247 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF RBTIEW. The FHDIBAL HOME LOAN BANK REVIEW IS the Boards medium of communication with member institutions of the Federal Home Loan Bank System and is the only official organ or periodical publication of the Board. The REVIEW will be sent to all member institutions without charge. To others the annual subscription price, which covers the cost of paper and printing, is $1. Single copies will be sold at 10 cents. Outside of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the insular possessions, subscription price is $1.60; single copies, 15 cents. Subscriptions should be sent to and copies ordered from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. APPROVED BY THE BUREAU OF THE BUDGET. 219525—40 1 MILWAUKEE FACES ITS REAL ESTATE PROBLEM A plan, developed jointly by the Wisconsin Banking Commission, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and local savings and loan associations, for liquidating institutionally owned real estate through licensed real estate brokers. • STABILIZED values and sales-broker cooperation are important factors in the orderly liquidation of institutionally owned real estate. Realizing this, the Wisconsin Banking Commission joined with the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and local savings, building and loan associations in an effort to develop a plan which would accomplish these two objectives in Milwaukee County. The first step was the setting up of a bureau to centralize property listings and coordinate sales efforts to dispose of real estate holdings which had accumulated during recent years. This Bureau, the Milwaukee Properties Bureau, Inc., is a non-stock non-profit corporation. I t is under the direction of six men, two of whom were designated by the Governor, two selected by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, and two by the participating associations. These MILWAUKEE PROPERTIES BUREAU, INC To all "Approved Brokers", the Bureau distributes attractive gold-blue-andwhite decalcomanias (size: 4 x 6 inches), which can be transferred to their office windows. 214 include the President and Vice President of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, the State Banking Commissioner, two Milwaukee savings and loan executives, and a Milwaukee Realtor who was elected manager. All associations, whether insured or desiring insurance of accounts, having more than 20 percent of their assets in owned real estate, are participating in the program. Associations in the process of liquidation are eligible, with the consent of the State Banking Commission. Although uninterested in applying for insurance, other institutions in the county may subscribe provided they have the recommendation of the Banking Commission. REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPANTS To cover the operating expenses of the Bureau, each participating association contributes an entrance fee of one-tenth of 1 percent of the dollar amount of its real estate holdings as of the end of the preceding year, and a yearly fee of one-tenth of 1 percent of the book value of its owned real estate as of each preceding year-end, payable in monthly installments. For example, an association owning $400,000 of real estate on December 31, 1938, would have paid an entrance fee of one-tenth of this amount, or $400, and a monthly fee of one-twelfth of $400, or $33.33, during 1939. Assuming that since participation in the plan the real estate holdings of this association had been reduced on December 31, 1939, by 16 percent (the average reduction of the total properties listed) to $336,000, the monthly assessment during 1940 would be only $28.00. After placing its property in saleable condition, a member association is required to furnish the Bureau complete data regarding its real estate. This information is submitted on standard forms which include space for an analysis of each parcel of the association's real estate, a copy of the latest appraisal report, one copy of a recent photograph, a complete description, and the sale price that the association will accept. Federal Home Loan Bank Review OPERATIONS OF THE B U R E A U Milwaukee Properties Bureau, Inc., operates as a clearing house. After receiving the property listing forms, it makes an independent appraisal of each piece of property to determine its current market value. In the event that the sale price asked by the association is not in agreement with the Bureau's own estimate of the current market value, a compromise price is worked out by the institution and the manager of the Properties Bureau. For After each property has been listed, appraised, and approved, the data are recorded on 4 x 6 inch cards along with a photograph of the property. Reproductions of these are made by the planograph process and are available to "Approved Brokers" at two cents each. The planograph list of city real estate is divided into three sections and although brokers are not required to purchase more than one section, many brokers subscribe to the entire service in order to maintain complete listings in their own offices. Notice of sales is included with this service. final settlement, difficult cases are taken to the directors of the Bureau (the President of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, the State Banking Commissioner, and one of the two Milwaukee savings and loan executives), whose decision is final and binding. Market conditions as well as subsequent reviews of unsold parcels may bring about a revision of the listing price. April 1940 FUNCTIONS OF THE R E A L ESTATE BROKER The Bureau is not a sales agency. All sales are made through licensed real estate brokers whose applications to the Bureau for "Approved Broker" ratings have been accepted. With the exception of resales to former owners, all sales must clear through the Bureau. Brokers are paid promptly after sales at the full commission rate, 2I5 o o MILWAUKEE PROPERTIES BUREAU, INC. BUILDING DISTRICT • TSV •"• -3ATA7 v Si™ = « » ' -jftt ion S,0E PAVING STREET oaved *«-«* paved VALUE I GAS X WATER City X SEWER City 1Z.OO. 6900. 8300. 19 38 Rrirk FOUNDATION Cement "°° F Shingle 1939 HEATING 2 - 2 A n f u r n a c e s Z* 1940 ?14 .13 LOTN 6 . 6 7 ' l o t 3 6 , a l l ' 3 7 BLK.1 susWash. R . C o ' s B u b d . FLOOD DESC. tubs, Fully equipped with laundry s c r e e n s , and s t o r m s . bath IVOtN. same a s 1 s t floor 40. 43. attic FLWI, <„«, 2 c a r b r i c k .,„» ASSOCIATION NO. -coal — AOO'L A00RT5S FUEl MONTHLY ItHTAl 5 rooms and 2 bedrooms 2 bedrooms and LEGAL 103f~ block UNIT DESCRIPTION UTILITIES ELECT. JJJN 1 0 *GE CONSTR. H.3 LISTING ' z 5 3 CITY , • T?M " SALE fRlCt _^J"anLily duplex A broker is not protected on a prospect; the property is sold to the client of the first broker placing a deposit at the Bureau's office, subject to an acceptable character and credit report on the purchaser. "Telephone deposits" are not recognized. However, two brokers may make deposits on the same property, the second being subject to the acceptance or rejection of the credit standing of the first purchaser. A minimum down-payment of not less than 10 percent of the purchase price is required in all sales except those of multifamily or commercial properties, in which case the minimum is 20 percent. Monthly payments of $8.00 per thousand include reduction of principal and interest computed semiannually at 5 per centum per annum. I n addition to this payment, the purchaser deposits monthly a sum equal to one-twelfth of the previous year's taxes. At this rate, a property is paid for in about 14 % years. No "For Sale" signs are permitted except on vacant lots, in which case the signs read "For Sale 216 through Your Real Estate Broker". To approved brokers the Bureau distributes attractive decalcomanias reading "Approved Sales Broker—Milwaukee Properties Bureau, Inc., Sales Through Real Estate Brokers Only" to be transferred to office windows. With the permission of the Bureau, brokers may advertise listed properties at their own expense, b u t not more than two brokers may advertise the same property at the same time. The rapid progress of the Bureau since its organization the last day of M a y 1939 has been remarkable. By September, 175 sales for a total of $914,193 had been closed. This was slightly over 10 percent of the total listings filed (1,716), and almost 9 percent of the total dollar amount ($10,265,411). On December 31, with 1,912 listings at $12,403,470, the Bureau's year-end report showed 320 sales closed, aggregating $1,761,786—16 percent of the total listings at that time and 14 percent of the total dollar amount. On February 29, 1940, the total listings filed with the Bureau aggregated $15,739,300. Sales closed and in process of closing as of the same date totaled $2,581,536—17% percent of the total dollar amount listed. The Bureau is expected to continue its operations until June 30, 1945. However, it may be terminated before that time (1) through the sale of all listed properties; (2) by the withdrawal of associations whose real estate has been reduced to 20 percent of assets; (3) by the decision of 75 percent of the participants, with the consent of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation; and (4) by the Bureau itself with the approval of the Insurance Corporation upon 60-day notice to each participating association. By agreement, the Bureau will return on an equitable basis all assessments not required or any surplus remaining after its termination. Appointment of Directors • T H E appointments of two Public Interest Directors have been announced recently by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Robert E . Lee Hill, Director of Alumni Activities of the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri, was reappointed Public Interest Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, and will serve for the unexpired portion of a 4-year term ending December 31, 1943. The other reappointment was that of T. J. Butler of the Elgin-Butler Brick Company at Austin, Texas. Mr. Butler's term as Public Interest Director of the Little Rock Bank will end December 31, 1943. Federal Home Loan Bank Review INVESTMENTS OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES The annual study of investment policies of life insurance companies reveals a mounting cash position but no marked increase in participation in home finance. • T H E life insurance companies of this country must find suitable new investments for an average flow of more than $10,000,000 each day. The magnitude of these investments reflects the continued steady growth of life insurance during this century. In 1906, assets of all life insurance companies aggregated three billions of dollars; in 1929, seventeen billions; and at the end of 1939, twenty-nine billions. The dollar increase in their assets has ranged close to one and one-half billions of dollars during each of the past five years. Whereas at the turn of the century, insurance in force covered only 13 percent of the population, it is estimated that one out of every two lives is protected by some kind of insurance policy in this country today. As life insurance expanded, investments by insurance companies played an increasingly important part in the national economy. In recent years, their problems in finding suitable investments for these increasing amounts of new money have also become greater. The fact that the demands for capital have been extremely small from any borrowers except the United States Government has aggravated the difficulty. One result has been marked shifts in their investment portfolios. In 1929, for example, mortgages made up the largest single investment item—• 42 percent of their total assets. U. S. Government bonds accounted for only 2 percent. At the end of 1939, mortgage investments amounted to 19 percent of total assets, but holdings of U. S. Government bonds had risen to 18 percent, constituting about 11 percent of the total direct and contingent debt of the Federal Government. INVESTMENTS IN H O M E MORTGAGES In placing their funds, insurance companies have long followed the policy of diversification of investment, with emphasis upon mortgages, Government obligations, and corporate bonds. Real estate mortgages, which offer wide diversification of risks, have occupied a prominent place in their portfolios, indicating how actively insurance companies have participated in financing farms, urban homes, and commercial properties. April 1940 Primarily because of life insurance company activity in real estate financing, the Division of Research and Statistics makes an annual survey of their investments. 1 The latest study reveals the fact that although these companies showed some tendency during 1939 to increase their participation in home finance, the extent of this increase was modest. Of the estimated urban home-mortgage debt, life insurance companies were carrying 7.5 percent on December 31, 1938. Preliminary estimates of a $400,000,000 increase in the total homemortgage debt during 1939 indicate that insurance companies held almost the same proportion of the total at the end of 1939 as at the end of 1938. The increase in insurance company holdings was proportionately about the same as the increase in the total debt. The fact that insurance companies accounted for 9 percent of the dollar amount of all home mortgages Table 7.—Relationship of home-mortgage recordings in 1939 to home-mortgage debt [Amounts are shown in millions of dollars] Type of lender Savings and loan associations _ _ Mutual savings banks Insurance companies. _ Others 1 Total Estimated nonfarm home mortgages outstanding, December 31, 1938 Home-mortgage recordings, calendar year 1939 Ratio of recordings to mortgages outRatio standRatio Amount to Amount to ing total total $3, 630 Percent 21 $1, 168 Percent 31 Percent 30 2,670 15 141 4 5 1,320 10, 101 7 57 332 2,125 9 56 23 19 17, 721 100 3,766 100 19 1 Includes commercial banks, trust companies, Home Owners' Loan Corporation, individuals, etc. i Estimates for life insurance companies are based upon statistics from 50 companies with assets aggregating over 90 percent of the total assets of all life insurance companies in the United States. 2I7 recorded in 1939 tends to confirm this estimate of a relatively constant ratio of insurance company holdings to total home-mortgage debt during 1939, inasmuch as the recordings include a certain amount of refinancing of existing debts. The preceding table shows that home mortgages recorded by insurance companies amounted to $332,000,000 (23 percent of their home mortgages outstanding); recordings by mutual savings banks totaled $141,000,000 (5 percent of their outstanding balances), while savings and loan recordings of $1,168,000,000 aggregated 30 percent of their outstanding home-mortgage loans. Increasing interest on the part of life insurance companies in insured mortgages is evidenced by Federal Housing Administration statistics. During 1939, these institutions originated insured mortgage loans under Title I I of the National Housing Act amounting to $77,500,000; during 1938, the total was $54,000,000. At the end of 1939, insurance companies had originated 9.1 percent of the dollar amount of all insured mortgages, compared with 8.6 percent on December 31, 1938. Although life insurance companies had originated only one-tenth of insured mortgages by the end of 1939, they held on that date nearly one-fifth of the dollar value of all insured mortgages then outstanding. This indicates that for every dollar of insured mortgage loans insurance companies have originated, they have purchased an additional dollar from other originating mortgagees. Insured mortgages held in insurance company portfolios at the end of 1939 amounted to $342,000,000 (19.0 percent of all insured mortgages); at the end of 1938, the total was $212,000,000 (17.7 percent). Although they originated insured mortgage loans in the amount of $77,500,000 last year, the increase in their holdings of insured mortgages amounted to $130,000,000. GENERAL INVESTMENT POLICY D U R I N G 1939 Home mortgages, however, represent less than one-third of the $4,700,000,000 of all nonfarm mortgages held by these institutions. Out of total new investments estimated at $3,680,000,000 in 1939, $673,000,000 (18 percent) was placed in nonfarm mortgages by insurance companies, an increase of about $19,000,000 over the new nonfarm mortgages made in 1938. The heaviest concentration of nonfarm mortgages held by life insurance companies at the end of 1938 was in New York State, where 30 percent of the total dollar volume of mortgages was located. Illinois showed the next heaviest concentration, with nearly $400,000,000. Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, ranked in that order, were the only other States in which nonfarm mortgages of life insurance companies exceeded $200,000,000. Table 2 brings out the fact that approximately three-quarters of a billion dollars was loaned by these institutions on real estate mortgage security in 1939— about one-fifth of their total new investments for the Table 2.—Estimated investments of life insurance companies in the United States [Source: The Association of Life Insurance Presidents, Wall Street Journal, and returns to the Division of Research and Statistics from a special questionnaire to life insurance companies] [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Estimated total investments held as of Dec. 31, 1939 Estimated new investments Type of investment Ratio to total Amount Amount Ratio to total 1939 1938 1934 1939 1938 1934 $4, 723, 000 855, 000 Percent 21.0 3.8 $672, 603 103, 202 $653, 393 118, 419 $55, 217 32, 574 Percent 18.3 2.8 Percent 18.3 3.3 Percent 2.6 / Total mortgages, U. S. Government bonds _^ Other Government bonds Stocks and other bonds. _ 5, 578, 000 5, 338, 000 2, 473, 000 9, 062, 000 24.8 23.8 11.0 40.4 775, 805 1, 151, 040 309, 573 1, 444, 040 771, 812 1, 169, 805 272, 700 1, 364, 998 87, 791 1, 222, 952 369, 357 396, 844 21. 1 31.3 8.4 39.2 21.6 32.7 7.6 38. 1 4.2 58.9 17.8 19. 1 Total investments 22, 451, 000 100.0 3, 680, 458 3, 579, 315 2, 076, 944 100.0 100.0 100.0 Nonfarm mortgages Farm mortgages */ 5 S 218 1.6 Federal Home Loan Bank Review ESTIMATED ASSETS AND NEW MORTGAGE LOANS MADE EACH YEAR BY ALL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES ( Based on reports of leading life insurance companies having approximately 90% of total assets ) PERCENT DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS lOOr OF DOLLARS 700 NEW MORTGAGE LOANS MADE 600 500 400 300 200 100 Marked shifts in the investment portfolios of life insurance companies are revealed by the flow chart on the left. The diminishing importance of farm mortgages and the relatively constant proportion of nonfarm mortgages in recent years are clearly shown. Continued expansion of holdings of U. S. Government bonds, and the mounting cash position, indicate the difficulty of finding satisfactory mvestments in sufficient volume. The bar chart on the right discloses only slight increases in the volume of new nonfarm mortgage loans made by life insurance companies during the past two years after rapid expansion in 1936 and 1937. year. One-third of the investments was made in U. S. Government bonds, while an additional 8 percent was disbursed for the purchase of State, county, municipal, and other Government bonds. Stocks and other bonds received the remaining 39 percent of the new funds invested in 1939. Although the aggregate amount of new investments rose only 2.8 percent over 1938, the amount invested in other Government bonds increased almost 14 percent, and new investments in stocks and other bonds rose nearly 6 percent. The $19,000,000 increase in investments in nonfarm mortgages was practically offset by a $15,000,000 drop in the volume of new farm loans. A slight decrease in the purchases of U. S. Government bonds points to the fact that April 1940 although insurance company investment in these obligations continued to increase during 1939 both in dollar volume and in relation to total assets, the annual increment has become smaller each year since 1936. There are indications that public utility bonds and those of local governments have been accounting for larger portions of newly invested funds. Study of the trends in the percentage distribution of life insurance company assets during recent years is revealing of shifts in investment policy. The accompanying table shows this distribution for the three most recent years (1937-1939) and for 1929 (Table 3). I t is at once apparent that the ratio of nonfarm mortgages has remained consistently at about 16 percent of total assets, after a rapid shrinkage during 2I9 Table 3.—Estimated distribution of assets of al life insurance companies, 1929, 1937-1939 Percentage distribution of assets Type of asset directly into the field of large-scale rental housing, using investment funds to build and operate large apartment units. As yet, however, there is little evidence of any marked increase in participation in home finance by life insurance companies. 1939 1929 1937 1938 Nonfarm mortgages. . _ _ Farm mortgages _ 30.0 12.0 16.3 3.4 16.2 3.2 16. 2 2. 9 All mortgages Real estate U. S. Government bonds Other Government bonds_ _ _ _ Stocks and other bonds Cash 42.0 2.2 2.0 5.9 29.4 0.7 19. 7 8.0 18. 1 7.8 29.3 2.8 19.4 7.6 18. 2 7.9 30.4 2.8 19. 1 7.2 18.3 8.5 31. 1 3. 1 Other admitted assets 82. 2 17. 8 85. 7 14.3 86.3 13.7 87.3 12. 7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100. 0 Directory of Member Institutions I. INSTITUTIONS ADMITTED TO MEMBERSHIP IN THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK SYSTEM BETWEEN FEBRUARY 16 AND MARCH 15, 1940 DISTRICT NO. 1 N E W HAMPSHIRE: Berlin: Berlin Building & Loan Association of Berlin, N. H. DISTRICT NO. 3 PENNSYLVANIA: Total. __ the years through 1936. Farm mortgages have continued to play a less important part in the portfolios. Owned real estate is one major type of investment which is not ordinarily acquired as a direct result of investment programs. For the p,ast three years, the value of owned real estate on the books has remained approximately the same at $2,100,000,000. In relation to total resources, this item in each of these years has shown a decline. Since the real estate owned figure includes both real estate sold on contract and home and branch office buildings, it is quite possible that if these elements were removed, the remainder would show a small decline in actual dollar amount from 1938. Philadelphia: First Philadelphia Savings & Loan Association, 1700 Samson Street. DISTRICT NO. 4 SOUTH CAROLINA: Easley: Home Building & Loan Association, Easley Bank Building. WITHDRAWALS FROM THE FEDERAL HOME LOAN SYSTEM BETWEEN FEBRUARY 16 AND MARCH 15, BANK 1940 LOUISIANA: New Orleans: Pan-American Life Insurance Company, Whitney Building (voluntary withdrawal). MISSOURI: Kansas City: Bankers Savings & Loan Association, 101 Keith and Perry Building (voluntary withdrawal). N E W JERSEY: Jersey City: Franklin Building & Loan Association of Hudson County, 74 Franklin Street (voluntary withdrawal). Newark: The Park Building & Loan Association of the City of Newark, 631 Springfield Avenue (merger with, and under name of, "Supreme Building & Loan Association of Irvington, N. J.", Irvington, New Jersey). Wisconsin: Milwaukee: First Bohemian National Loan & Building Association, 1872 North Twelfth Street (voluntary withdrawal). II. FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS CHARTERED BETWEEN FEBRUARY 16 AND MARCH 15, 1940 DISTRICT NO. 2 A M O U N T I N G C A S H POSITION At the end of 1939, cash of life insurance companies stood at $903,000,000, or 3.1 percent of assets. Since the cash ratio is normally less than 2 percent, the higher levels of recent years reflect in part the backing up of funds due to the difficulty of finding satisfactory investments readily. Recent testimony of insurance company officials before the Temporary National Economic Committee shows that there is some concern as to the proportion of the investment portfolio which is made up of U. S. Government bonds. A hesitancy to place more funds in this field, coupled with a mounting cash account, might cause a more liberal investment policy in mortgages and in other types of government and industrial obligations. In several instances, large companies have already entered 220 N E W JERSEY: Eatontown: Twin Boro Federal Savings & Loan Association, Main Street (converted from Eatontown and Oceanport Building & Loan Association). DISTRICT NO. 3 PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia: Founders-Oxford Federal Savings & Loan Association, 5710 North Fifth Street (converted from Foundeis Building & Loan Association). Oxford Federal Savings & Loan Association, 1523 West Girard Avenue (converted from Oxford Building & Loan Association). DISTRICT NO. 5 KENTUCKY: Hopkinsville: Hopkinsville Federal Savings & Loan Association, First City Bank Building (converted from Hopkinsville Building & Loan Association). CANCELATIONS OF FEDERAL CHARTERS BETWEEN RUARY 16 AND MARCH 15, 1940 FEB- N E W MEXICO: Silver City: Grant County Federal Savings & Loan Association, 208 Bullard Street (dissolution). WISCONSIN: Milwaukee: Kinnickinnic Federal Savings & Loan Association, 2252 South Kinnickinnic Avenue (Board action). (Continued on p. 2^8) Federal Home Loan Bank Review THE HOME-CONSTRUCTION EXHIBIT—A PUBLIC SERVICE Few potential home builders and buyers are aware of the technical features which are essential to a soundly constructed dwelling. The educational aspects of a homeconstruction exhibit are equally as important therefore as the ultimate benefit to the sponsoring institution. • THE largest single purchase in the lifetime of the average person is a home, yet his knowledge of the technical background of construction is probably less complete than that for any of his other investments. Providing an opportunity for the home-buying public to study and become more familiar with many of these technological details is more than a program of consumer education. Inevitably, it will arouse a greater interest in quality production and place increased emphasis upon the need for expert architectural advice and construction supervision in the acquiring of a new home. In this last function, such a program performs a genuine public service—one which benefits not only the home owner in terms of his ultimate satisfaction with the property, but also the lending institution which will invest funds in this dwelling. An unusual home-construption exhibit was opened recently by the Richmond County Federal Savings and Loan Association in Tottenville, New York. This display, showing the use of building materials and proper construction methods in the small-house field, has been described as one of the most complete of its kind. Not only are the types of rooms shown, together with all types of flooring, roofing, and equipment, but many safeguards that can be taken against faulty construction are pointed out. The exhibit, which is being held in a large room next door to the association's offices on Staten Island, is open to the public daily from 9:00 a. m. to 4:00 p. m. and during one evening a week. The photographs below present a general view of the display showing the booths arranged along each side of the room and the provisions which have been made for a leisurely study of the instructive and explanatory literature which is made available to all visitors. Of interest is the fact that the project has been designed to appeal not only to prospects for new homes, but also those who intend to modernize and improve existing dwellings. These general views of the entire exhibit present the atmosphere and setting of the room as one would observe them upon entering. The tables in the center provide an opportunity for a careful study of the Home Selector of the Federal Home Building Service Plan as well as the other booklets and pamphlets which are available. The room is modern and well lighted and offers every facility for the convenience of the visitor. April 1940 221 o b J ^ ^ ^ SECTIONS OF CONSTRUCTION The samples of construction which make up the display were erected in accordance with recognized architectural standards, and the requirements of the local building department. The individual booths were built with the full cooperation of six local architects, seven contractors, and three material dealers. Commendable, however, is the fact that there is not a single commercial trade name involved in the entire display. OBJECTIVE APPROACH M A I N T A I N E D Keynote of the entire program is its emphasis on sound construct on. This; w }&*"»*. tarty stressed in the section illustrated above. The designated details are as follows (1, cinder fill beneath concrete, necessary for proper foundation; (2> wall should key mto footing to improve foundation; (3) about 12 inches of gravel around dram with heavy Dacked earth supporting turf; (4) proper insulation of chimney; (5) two proper fire stops: Sne of rock^woo?and the other concrete! (6) copper flashing for roofing; (7) flooring support. 222 Every effort has been made to preserve a purely objective approach throughout the presentation of this exhibit. I t provides a place to which a prospective home buyer may go with his architect, his contractor, or his friends, to study the various panels which demonstrate the construction principles essential to a well-built home and different types of exterior and interior finish. A collection of Home Magazines and pamphlets is maintained in the Building Library, as well as the Home Selector of the Federal Home Building Service Plan which includes a variety of attractive small-house designs created by local architects in addition to those approved for national use. According to Mr. C. B . Gandy, executive vice president of the Richmond County Federal association, who initiated this enterprise, Federal Home Loan Bank Review "Although any officer or member of our trained staff in the office of the Association, which is right next door, will be glad to answer questions pertaining to the exhibit and assist visitors in any way possible, the display room will be left unattended so t h a t guests may feel free to come and go as they please during the hours that it is open. "The exhibit is exactly what it purports to be—a headquarters for those planning to build homes or remodel their present homes. I t attempts to show home builders what they must have in order to achieve a well-constructed home, as well as pointing out the necessity of proper professional guidance in design and supervision of construction." D E T A I L S OF THE INDIVIDUAL BOOTHS Included in the photographs on these two pages is a close-up of each of the eight individual booths in the display. Each variation in the type of construction is plainly marked for the convenience of the visitor, and as many different materials were used as could possibly be fitted into the space. Brick and frame exteriors are carried out with 25 different materials. Inasmuch as sound construction methods keynote the entire exhibit, the two panels highlighting these features are presented in the upper right-hand and lower left-hand corners of these pages. What lies behind the wallpaper and paint is shown above. X^JTSS^JPtS^S borrowers might overlook: (1) building paper between the rough and finished floors(2) asbestos insulation of steam or hot water risers and fire stops between beamb at each noor level- (3) comer bracing where sheathing is laid horizontally; (4) double studs around aU window anddooopenYngs; (5) 3-coat plaster on either ^-inch rock lath or wire lath with waterpToof backing; (6) Insulating batts between studs; and (7) metal cornentes. The increased use of wood paneling throughout the modern house is demonstrated by the The remaining three sections of the display are illustrated below, number of ways in which the exterior of his dwelling may be finished. first picture on the left. Even a casual observer is impressed by the April 1940 TRENDS IN RESIDENTIAL VACANCIES—1939 (/. S. Department of Commerce reports indicate mixed trends for the over-all vacancy ratios of individual communities during last year. The percentage of unoccupied 1-family dwellings showed favorable declines in many cities, but these were largely offset by marked increases in vacancies in multifamily units. • T H E volume of new residential construction in any community is greatly influenced by the number of unoccupied units already in existence. Under normal conditions an increasing number of vacant units will have a deterrent effect upon the erection of new dwellings, while rising occupancy will provide a positive stimulus to construction. Of prime significance, therefore, to home-financing institutions, contractors and builders, and material dealers in every city are the trends in residential vacancies. Changes during 1939 in the relationship of unoccupied units to the total number of available dwellings varied greatly with individual communities according to reports received by the Construction and Real Property Section of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. As there was no apparent geographic concentration to these changes, it is evident that they were effected primarily by local conditions. Of the 35 cities for which comparable surveys were made in 1939 and 1938, 20 reported a lower percentage of vacancies last year, 14 showed a higher percentage than in 1938, and one indicated no change. Analysis of the trends in those communities for which data were available in 1937 and 1939 shows that there may have been a slight upward tendency predominating during the period as a whole: 16 cities had a greater percentage of vacancies last year than in 1937; 13 had a lower ratio; and the proportions of three were unchanged. One fact stands out from this analysis: the nationwide trend of decreasing vacancies, which started at the high levels of 1932-1933 and continued well into 1936, had ended. Further changes in vacancies are controlled now largely by local factors which bear directly upon the trends within an individual community. Among the significant local factors influencing the shifts in residential occupancy, the Construction and Real Property Section lists the volume of new con224 struction, demolition of buildings, doubling and undoubling of families, migration to and from a city, and the number of deaths, marriages, and divorces. Each of these affects the community trend, but with varying degrees of importance. A vacancy decrease in one city, it was pointed out, may reflect an improved level of business activity and family income resulting in migration to the city and an undoubling of families within the city. This might well be the situation in those communities which have received economic stimulation from the establishment of a new industry, or from unusual circumstances such as war orders, or the effect of nearby construction projects such as the Tennessee Valley System. On the other hand, a trend toward a higher vacancy ratio in another city may reflect primarily a larger volume of new residential construction which is adding to the supply of unused dwellings. In still another city, new construction may be offset by the undoubling of families and the result will be no change in vacancy. T R E N D S IN VACANCY BY T Y P E OF STRUCTURE I t is unfortunate that only a few of the cities undertaking vacancy studies make a complete classification of the types of structures which are unoccupied. The chart on page 226 presents these data for most of the cities which prepared such an analysis during 1939. I t is interesting to note t h a t although the trends in over-all vacancy ratios of these 12 cities were decidedly mixed (five increased, five decreased, and two were unchanged), there were more definite divergent movements in the 1-family and multifamily classifications. More than half of the reporting areas indicated fewer unoccupied single-family dwellings in proportion to the total on the date of the survey in 1939 than in the preceding year. Multifamily vacancies, on the other hand, have been increasing in these communities with nine out of the 12 showing more vacant units than in 1938. Federal Home Loan Bank Review Percentage of vacant dwelling units to all dwelling units in selected cities, 1936-1939 In each year, period I covers surveys made from January 1 to April 30; period II, from May 1 to August 31; period HI, from September 1 to December 31. No. 1—Boston: No. 2—New York: Oranges, and Maplewood, N . J Trenton, N. J.2 2 Westfield, N . J. Syracuse, N . Y No. 3—Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh, Pa Williamsport, Pa __ (metropolitan district) . (city only) (suburbs) . _ _ . _. No. 6—Indianapolis: Elkhart, Ind. 2 __. Indianapolis,6Ind. 2 _ Muncie, Ind. _ South Bend, Ind Detroit, Mich Lansing, Mich _ _ _ No. 9—Little Rock: San Antonio, Tex.* No. 10—Topeka: Denver, Colo Omaha, Nebr.»__ Oklahoma City, Okla.»° No. 12—Los Angeles: Pasadena, Calif.2 __ 8.1 _ _ _ _ ___ _._ 1.9 2.0 2.2 REB REB 1.9 2.0 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.7 1.7 1.3 1.8 1.8 2.6 2.0 1.2 2.2 2.8 2.2 2.0 /I 3.4 2.6 2.0 3.3 3.3 3.0 2.9 3.3 2.4 (0 6.6 3.9 REB 3.1 UD REB REB 1.6 4.7 | 1.4 6.7 4.6 1.4 1.3 4.5 3.8 2.0 4.1 4.5 2.0 1.6 1.5 ' " 1===== 2.5 1.7 1 .9 I 2.3 2.7 !? ; .! } - f \ 2.6 3.5 .9 3.0 1.9 2.4 4.4 3.7 2.6 2.4 2.1 2.6 2.4 3.2 1.6 3.0 2.4 1.7 2.2 } 2.1 i.8 2.9 2.3 3.6 1.3 1.8 1.0 1.5 .9 1.3 .7 1.7 1.7 1.2 3.6 3.8 1.5 7.2 4.3 3.7 3.8 3.0 1.2 1.9 1.3 1.6 2.0 6.4 1.7 1.8 2.6 1.5 2.5 1.7 III 5.8 1.4 6.6 3.7 II 3.6 2.0 2.3 4.1 3.3 3.3 2.0 1.5 2.4 .9 1.1 .8 1.9 1.4 1.5 3.5 I 2.0 .8 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.3 2.1 1.9 1.8 3.6 5.8 4.1 1.9 1.9 2.5 1.2 2.8 1.3 2.0 1.0 .9 1.5 1.5 III II 2.1 2.6 1.8 1.8 I 1936 3.0 1.3 2.6 2.4 REB REB REB P P REB REB ' 4.9 3.3 1 (86) () (•) P 6.2 III 2.7 1.6 2.9 2.3 (3) REB REB II I III 2.4 3.4 1.5 3.3 2.7 P CC REB REB HA REB 1937 1938 4.2 REB REB REB HA REB REB _ _ II REB _ No. 8—Des Moines: Cedar Rapids, Iowa... Davenport, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Duluth, Minn Minneapolis, Minn St. Paul, Minn Kansas City, Mo St. Louis, Mo ._ No. 11—Portland: Portland, Oreg Seattle, Wash _ _- I 3.6 REB _ No. 4—Winston-Salem: Asheville, N . C.« Tampa, Fla No. 7—Chicago: Madison, Wis Racine, Wis | HA CWD HA REB Brockton, Mass New Bedford, Mass Springfield, Mass 1 No. 5—Cincinnati: Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Columbus, Ohio 1939 Source of data Federal Home Loan Bank District and city — • 1.0 1 6 1.3 1.6 2.1 ' " 2.2 1 Key to "Source of data'* column: P, private source; CC, Chamber of Commerce; CWD, City Water Department; HA, Housing Authority; REB, Local Real Estate Board; UD, Bureau of Business Research, Univ. of Denver. » The 1936 and 1937 figures have been revised. • Excluding apartments. • Data are for idle electric meters for the months of February, June, and October of each year, covering most of Allegheny and Beaver Counties. The data are published by the Bureau of Business Research of the University of Pittsburgh. < Where two figures are given for a period, the upper is for the earlier survey within the period; the surveys were made at irregular intervals. • Data for period III are from surveys made as WPA projects each October, and are made available by the Real Property Inventory of Metropolitan Cleveland, Inc., a nonprofit research agency; figures for periods I and II are based on trends in inactive electric meters in the metropolitan area, adjusted to the annual surveys, and are for the months of February and June. Data for periods I and II, 1939, not yet available. • One-family houses only; includes dwellings under construction, but excludes those "unfit for use". pfc* The figures are for February, June, and October, and are taken from the monthly sample surveys of Real Estate Analysts, Inc. 8 Houses under construction are counted as vacant. 9 The Omaha surveys cover 1-family houses and some duplexes and flats over stores only. io New houses which have not yet been occupied are not counted as vacant. April 1940 NOTE.—Comparison of the vacancy survey figures presented in this article with the results of Real Property Inventories made in some of the cities at the same time indicates that the level of vacancy is generally considerably higher than the vacancy surveys show. This does not affect the reliability of these vacancy figures as indicators of the presence or absence of upward or downward trends in vacancy over a period of time, however. Vacancy in Detroit, for example, was undoubtedly greater than 2.0 percent in February 1939 (according to a Real Property Survey it was 5.1 percent in the summer of 1938), but the reported increase from 1.3 in 1938 to 2.0 in 1939 nevertheless correctly points out a substantial increase in total vacancy. 225 Studying these communities over a 3-year period from 1937 to 1939, this same distinction between the occupancy trends of single-family and multifamily dwellings is in evidence. Eliminating Syracuse, New York, which did not report in 1937, the over-all ratios of seven cities increased; of one, did not change; and of three, decreased. D a t a on 1-family occupancy trends show that the gains and losses were almost equally divided: six cities indicated fewer vacancies at the end of the period and five showed a larger number. For multifamily units, however, the record of San Antonio ran counter to an otherwise unanimous movement toward higher vacancies. T H E N A T U R E OF VACANCY SURVEYS A vacancy survey in its simplest terms is a statistical photograph of conditions in the real estate market at any given moment. I t is a census of unused housing facilities. When properly prepared with a sufficient amount of detail and interpretation, it outlines the location and nature of the demand for housing. I t serves as a reliable guide in the planning of future construction by indicating where, when, and how much new residential building can be justified in terms of the present relationship of the supply of, and the demand for, dwelling units. On the basis of an adequate vacancy survey, for example, it should be possible to determine whether the construction of a new series of homes by an operative builder would merely add to the excess supply of that type of units already in existence in a community. Cognizance of a rising trend in vacancies in multifamily units in another city should turn building efforts from the apartment field to a more profitable one. M a n y of the problems of production excesses and shortages in the residential construction industry have been due to "trial and error" methods of estimating vacancies. VACANCY RATIOS BY TYPE OF STRUCTURE IN SELECTED CITIES, 1937-1939 B-SURVEY MADE JAN. I-APR. 30 SOUTH BEND, IND. H3--SURVEY MADE MAY l-AUG. 31 ST. PAUL, MINN. SINGLE-FAMILY MULTIFAMILY 1 SINGLE-FAMILY MULTIFAMILY OVER-ALL 12..SURVEY MADE SEP. I-DEC. 31 KANSAS CITY, MO. OES MOINES, I A. OVER-ALL |SI NGLE-FAMILY MULTIFAMILY OVER-ALL ISINGLE-FAMILY| MULTIFAMILY 1 i n0I n Fl n y y Li r 1 Wi II 1 if i ST LOUIS. MO. t I I I 1 1 I M 1M1 m OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. m \ 1 "I 1 1 9.6 I \A 11 M Li fl n Hi 111 III Fl 11 II. ill, RACINE, \AMSC. MINNEAPOLIS. MINN. 1 [A HI 1 j 1 PI v\ 11 1 M 1 &1 1 1.1 1 Km 1 I i 1 [-J 1 LI DENVER, COLO. 9.» 1 11 l p| 11 WH V -Pi-L IS m 1 i ra \\ SAN ANTONIO, TEX. IS 1 Id! \\ n I Jiiililli 1-1 1 l 9.9 1 11.6 ! a 1 a f wi n 11 PI 1 vm SYRACUSE, N. Y. n 1 -M4-|4- iif Hi. CLEVELAND, 0. (CITY ONLY) 81 [ •37 m t '3u8 '39 •37 226 -38 •39 •37 *38 *39 P! 11U '37 '38 M •39 !'37 '38 •39 1*37 '38 '39 nil '"f§ | | nil 11!ll 1 1 s ill! 11 ft Jill F '37 Jl 1 f Mil 1\ 1 F 1 K*11U '3 B '39 1*37 '3 8 39 1*37 1 ii 1 JB II 1 1II lllllllllllll '38 •39 '37 '38 '39 l'37 '38 '39l'37 '38 ^9 Federal Home Loan Bank Review DENVER RESIDENTIAL VACANCY COMPARISONS - SINGLE RESIDENCES J930-J939, BY PROPERTY AGE GROUPS k /••.. -••. \ / f \ \ \ 3.0 W ""'*"*\ I§^ T H E R O L E OF SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS IN VACANCY SURVEYS V-'9 01-1915 •• 1926- 1935 -* § '/ je-Constructed pror to I9C \ •\ ~l 2.5 2.0 \ 1916-1925-^- / \ ^ f ^••••gp *:Mr % • ^ J^**" SOURCE I t is apparent that such information would be of substantial assistance in formulating policies regarding the disposition of real estate owned, or the management of these properties. Rents and selling prices will fluctuate in accord with changing market conditions brought about by shifts in the demand for or supply of these older dwellings. B JREAU OF Bl SINESS RESEARCH U DIVERSITY 0 F DENVER DIVISION OF RESE ARCH AND S TATISTICS FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK BOARD 1 One of the interesting studies which can be made, when complete analysis of vacancy data is available, is the trend in dwellings of different ages. In the chart above, it will be noted that there is a definite tendency for the oldest dwellings to show the highest vacancy ratio. This is true of every year except 1937. The newest group of residences (1926-1935), on the other hand, had the lowest percentage of vacancies in six out of the last seven years. The utility of these surveys, however, is not limited solely to the field of new construction, for they reflect with equal accuracy changes in the demand for old as well as new dwellings. The practicability of this has been demonstrated by vacancy data for the city of Denver which have been compiled for 10 consecutive years by the Bureau of Business Research of the University of Denver for the Denver Real Estate Exchange. One of the most complete of vacancy studies, this report classifies its data by property age groups, type of construction, and location within 33 Districts of the city and county, thus permitting a study of the trends within limited geographic areas. The chart above shows the vacancy ratios for the various property age groups of single-family dwellings during the years 1930-1939. I t highlights the demand preference for newer homes and indicates the fact t h a t homes built prior to 1901 were the last to be reoccupied following the depression (see accompanying chart). April 1940 Concurrent with the increasing interest of savings and loan executives in the importance and usefulness of various types of statistics, there is a growing recognition of the relationship of vacancy studies to the operations of all home-financing institutions. Mortgage lenders, desiring to protect the value of their loan security, see in these data an opportunity to safeguard against lending money on properties in areas in which the supply of dwellings, evidenced by vacancy surveys, is already adequate. At the same time, they look to these reports for possible clues to new opportunities for loan prospects in those areas where demand is the greatest. I t is not the purpose of this article to discuss the procedures and methods for conducting vacancy surveys. This has been a project of the Construction and Real Property Section of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce which is now preparing a special release on this subject of particular appeal to home-financing institutions. 1 According to the Department of Commerce, it is hoped that this report may be the means of stimulating interest in the development of additional surveys of residential vacancy, sponsored by local organizations, singly, or in cooperative groups. City or county savings and loan leagues, or study groups of the American Savings and Loan Institute, could easily serve as the nucleii for such undertakings to the ultimate benefit of the entire home-financing and residential construction industries. The Construction and Real Property Section of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce will be glad to assist local groups in initiating vacancy surveys. Those interested may write directly to this division of the Department of Commerce. i "Residential Vacancy Surveys, 1936-1939" will soon be released by the Construction and Real Property Section of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Washington, D. C. It will treat the general development of vacancy surveys, the standard methods of securing them, potential sources of new information, an evaluation of the different survey methods, and the types of useful vacancy data. The report also will include a presentation of all available vacancy data for the years 1936-1939, as well as revised and supplementary vacancy ratios for the period from 1930-1935. 227 « « « FROM THE MONTH'S NEWS DECLINING: "That immigration is a declining factor in American growth is indicated by the fact that during the first eight years of the decade ending in 1940 the United States actually registered an excess of emigration over immigration." Background for 19$ Census, U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. LUMBER: "The prospects for the lumber industry at this time are to a large degree dependent upon further expansion in this field (residential building, especially small lower-priced homes of frame construction and low-cost housing projects)." W. LeRoy Neubrech, Survey of Current Business, January 1940. N O WAR BOOM: "The restriction of building activity and the increase in building costs will tend in the direction of stabilizing house values, but the serious shortage of houses of 1918 does not obtain today and there is no probability of a repetition of the boom which followed the last war." Walter Harvey, The Building Societies' Gazette, (London, England), February 1940. INTANGIBLE RESERVE: "The association that by performance can merit and receive his (the customer's) confidence will find a loyalty that may be drawn upon in times of stress. His loyalty will produce a liquidity greater than can be provided by any high-grade bond portfolio." J. T. S. Lyle, Savings and Loans, February 1940. INTEREST RATES: " . . . a further decline in interest rates in this field (mortgage loans) would not be impossible and would no doubt be in the public interest, because interest charges are an important part of the cost of home-ownership. The reductions that have occurred have no doubt been a factor in increasing building activity." Woodlief Thomas, Federal Reserve Bulletin, March 1940. TRANSFORMATION: "Signs are not lacking that we may be on the threshold of a technological revolution in agriculture no less far-reaching than the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Already we are witnessing . . . the transformation of cornstalks into wallboard and other building material." The Indext New York Trust Co., Spring 1940. 228 Opportunities for leadership » » . . . . . "The manager of a savings and loan association, as I see him, has the opportunity of being one of the real constructive leadership citizens of his community. By his experience, his knowledge, and his day-to-day decisions, he can play a major part in making his city a better place in which to live. H e can lead it to better community planning. H e can help it to avoid the growth of blighted districts which are the cause of so much misery and financial loss in so m a n y of our cities. H e can be in the vanguard of movements to make home ownership less expensive and more popular . . . " Frank W. Hancock, Jr., member Federal Home Loan Bank Board, Savings and Loans, March 1940. Neighborhood trends " T h e high rent neighborhoods of a city do not skip about a t random in the process of movement—they follow a definite p a t h in one or more sectors of the city. . . . Thus if one sector of a city first develops as a low-rent residential area, it will tend to retain t h a t character for long distances as the sector is extended through process of the city's growth. On the other hand, if a high rent area becomes established in another sector of the city, it will tend to grow or expand within t h a t sector, and new high-grade areas will tend to establish themselves in the sector's outward extension." (See chart below.) Dr. Homer Hoyt, "The Structure and Growth of Kesidential Neighborhoods in American Cities," Federal Housing Administration. SHIFTS IN LOCATION OF FASHIONABLE RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN THREE AMERICAN CITIES 1900-1936 FASHIONABLE RESIDENTIAL AREAS INDICATED BY SOLID BLACK 1900 1915 1936 BOSTON, MASS. SEATTLE, WASH. MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION DIVISION OF ECONOMICS ft STATISTICS Federal Home Loan Bank Review THE THIRD ANNUAL "HUNT FOR FACTS" Based on nearly 7,300 schedules returned by member savings and loan associations, the current study of the business promotional programs of the industry is the most extensive yet undertaken. This preliminary report outlines the scope of the survey and describes some of the new features to be developed in this year's analysis. • ONE out of every three savings and loan members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System has replied thus far to the third annual "Hunt for Facts" questionnaire distributed by the Public Relations Department early in February. In all, more than 1,270 returns have been received which will make possible the most extensive study of savings and loan business promotional activity and expenditures undertaken up to this time. More than 830 communities, distributed in every Bank District, in every one of the 48 States, the District of Columbia, and the Territory of Hawaii, are represented by at least one reporting institution. Roughly 603, or more than 70 percent of the 838 members that filed useable returns last year, have again submitted schedules. In addition, there are approximately 619 new responses from associations which did not participate in the second "Hunt for Facts" survey. Preliminary inspection of the replies reveals that there is a marked improvement both as to quality and quantity of information supplied, in general indicating a great deal of care in preparation. Distribution of responses Total number of Bank members Federal Home Loan Bank District United States Bank Districts: Boston New York Pittsburgh Winston-Salem Cincinnati Indianapolis Chicago Des Moines Little Rock Topeka Portland Los Angeles 3,862 1,222 31. 6 209 416 531 400 582 213 466 240 275 227 133 170 58 88 109 119 167 84 137 99 97 89 71 104 27.8 21. 2 20. 5 29.8 28. 7 39. 4 29.4 41. 3 35. 3 39. 2 53.4 61. 2 Type of association AssociaAssociations re- tions reporting for 1939 Number porting of memfor 1938 bers, as a Jan. 31, percent 1940 Num- Percent of total ber of total membership All savings and loan members 3,862 1,222 31.6 21. 5 Federals Insured State-- - _Uninsured State 1,402 801 1,659 699 319 204 49.9 39.8 12.3 34. 9 31.7 7. 1 COVERAGE OF THE 1939 SCHEDULE Association managing officers and boards of directors will use data compiled from these reports as a basis for judging the activities of their own institutions in the light of those carried on by comparable members. The wide coverage of the responses assures them of information based upon a representative sample of all Federal Home Loan Bank member associations. The percentage of useable schedules has been unusually high, and thus far there are 1,222 which are suitable for analysis (31.6 percent of the total savings and loan membership of the Bank System). The distribution of this sample by Bank Districts appears in the table (left) and shows that more than half of the savings and loan members of the Los Angeles and Portland Bank Districts filed returns, and that even in the Pittsburgh region which had the smallest percentage of responses, one out of every five member associations is included in the survey. Useable replies from the different classes of members are distributed this year in almost the same mathe(Continued on p. 237) 229 April 1940 219525-40 - Associa- Percent total tions re- ofBank porting members Comparison of responses, 1939 and 1938 3 SUMMARY OF RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION AND HOME-FINANCING ACTIVITY I. Industrial activity continued to decline during March, but at a slower pace. an exception to the general trend. Export trade, which was sustained at a high level, was II. Total figures for the first two months of 1940 residential building in cities of more than 10,000 population indicate a slightly lower volume of activity than during the same 1939 period. A. Building permits issued during February were approximately one-third greater than in January of this year. III. Mortgage recordings of saving: and loan associations showed a 3-percent increase over January: the only classification to register an improvement. A. Year-to-year comparisons for the first two months of 1939 and 1940 reveal that mutual savings banks have shown the greatest percentage gain with savings and loan associations second. B. New mortgage loans by savings and loan associations during January and February were 22 percent above 1939, starting 1940 at the highest level since the early '30's. IV. The small-house building cost index registered a fractional increase during February supported by small gains in both material prices and labor costs. A. The wholesale prices of building materials continued to resist the decrease shown by the all-commodity index during the first 11 weeks of 1940. V. Foreclosures in February approximated the level of the average month of 1926, and were the lowest in 12 years. VI. Study of operations of identical Federals during 1939 reveals increases of $185,000,000 in private capital, while real estate holdings were declining rapidly. in mortgages held and of $197,000,000 RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ACTIVITY AND SELECTED INFLUENCING FACTORS 1926 « tOO 230 Federal Home Loan Bank Review RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION and HOME-FINANCING ACTIVITY • CONTINUOUS curtailment in the volume of foreclosures has occurred during each of the past five years so that, by February of this year, the rate was similar to that prevailing in the average month of 1926. This current foreclosure level, which is the lowest recorded in the past 12 years, is less than onefourth the magnitude of the peak depression months during 1933. Lowered foreclosure activity a t the present time shows that the borrowing public is better able to meet its obligations, and that mortgage lenders are relieved of the pressure of heavy real estate acquisitions, which usually involve considerable expense and ultimate loss. With this pressure lessened, savings and loan associations have been able to strengthen their financial position considerably through the orderly liquidation of real estate holdings. ESTIMATED An identical group of nearly 2,000 insured savings and loan associations which were surveyed recently reported a net disposal during 1939 of 15 percent of all real estate held by them a t the beginning of that year. A higher and more stable consumer income level is reflected in such reductions in real estate holdings. Such improvement in purchasing power reduces the necessity for foreclosures, and results in new mortgage loans as institutions find purchasers for owned real estate. Stability in construction cost and housing rental levels, which has prevailed during the past few months, has provided additional incentive to build. Residential construction activity in February rose sharply from depressed January levels to a point more than 18 percent above the same month of last year, according to building statistics. Accelerated NUMBER AND COST O F FAMILY 0 W E L L I N G U N I T S PROVIDED I N A L L C I T I E S O F 1 0 , 0 0 0 OR MORE Source: Federal Home Loan Bonk Board. Compiled from residential building permits reported to U.S. Dept. of Labor THOUSANOS OF I NITS " MILLIONS OFOC)LLARS NUMBER 30 POPULATION COST 100 \fli i , /» 25 V/ /Y 15 Y / ,/^-IS - ,»« \ ( 1o \ 10 \ ~ *«»——-. 38 \ . •«•*"* "9 .JAN FEB MAR APR. MAY JUN. JUL. AUG SEP. OCT. NOV. 0E.C DtIC JAN. **- FEB. MAR. APR MAY JUN. JUL. AUG SEP OCT NOV. DEC F EDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS ADVANCES OUTSTANDING A T E N D O F M O N T H CONSTRUCTION LOANS MADE BY ALL SAVINGS 8 LOAN ASSOCIATIONS MILLIONS OF DCILLARS MILLIONS OF DCL L A R S s / \ \ \ 20 \ .--•*" 40 \ ' I 938 r \ 40 5 X / \ J / ^L 60 / t t 80 A V-fr/939 i t i \ 20 39 220 30 1939- v / 200 25 ^I94C ) '*'**..„ -.--"•*' X'' 20 \ 15 \ ^ ' S * 38 - «.'"* 'X. w — — _----' 180 «.. ^** X A v ^ > 1939 / 160 "•*—-../ 140 10 VW( ? 120 5 1 * IC 100 JAN. FEB. MAR April 1940 APR MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP OCT. NOV. Df £J DEC. 1—«~^_^J JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP OCT NOV DEC. 231 building activity was widespread geographically, with all areas of the country except the Boston and Los Angeles Districts reporting increases from January in their cities of 10,000 population and over. Construction loans of savings and loan associations, although rising 3 percent in volume during February, were far from paralleKng the 30-percent rise in the number of 1- and 2-family units placed under construction. Home-purchase loans, which include not only mortgages on older structures but also loans made for the purchase of new homes from speculative builders, showed greater improvement over January than did any other loan class. Savings and loan associations were the only class of mortgage lender to show a greater volume of mortgage recordings in February than in January. Among the remaining groups, mutual savings banks and commercial banks and trust companies had the greatest declines in mortgage-recording activity during this period. Comparisons of mortgage financing among the various types of lenders reveal that savings and loan associations are making more loans than any other single class of lender, having recorded 31 percent of the total during 1939. During the first two months of this year these institutions have accounted for 30 percent of all recordings. prolonged than is now expected, the buying power of consumers probably will not be substantially reduced. The only major factor to resist the weakening tendency in business so far this year is the export trade. With sustaining active demand, the volume of foreign shipments has risen to approximately the 1929 level, when allowance is made for price changes. Except for a short period in February, commodity prices have fallen steadily since the beginning of the year and on March 16 the Department of Labor index of wholesale commodity prices had dropped to the lowest level since early September, climaxing a 1%-percent decline over the 11-week period since January 1. This reflects the fact that purchasing has not yet improved, as is indicated by the fact that new orders have been substantially below production for several months. Building materials, with a 0.3-percent increase, were the only group of commodities which registered advancing prices during the first 11 weeks of 1940. Since August 19, 1939, the index of prices for all commodities has risen 2.1 percent, while the index of prices for building materials has increased 4.1 percent. [1926=100] Type of index General Business Conditions • T H E R E was evidence that industrial activity, which has been declining since the beginning of the year, was continuing its downward movement but at a slower pace during March. Preliminary estimates by Federal Reserve economists indicate that the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production, which fell from the January average of 110 to 101 in February (1926 = 100), will remain in March above the August 1939 level of 95. The Bureau of Agricultural Economics found preliminary evidence t h a t a reversal of the downward movement would probably occur this spring "but there are as yet no signs pointing to rapid recovery thereafter". Emphasis was placed upon three facts: (1) The present decline was preceded by much more moderate increases in inventories during the final half of 1939 than during the longer period of inventory expansion which immediately preceded the 1937-1938 recession; (2) Following declines from December to February, the general level of wholesale commodity prices has been more nearly stable in March; (3) Unless the decline in business is more 232 Residential construction i Foreclosures (metro, cities)... Rental index (NICB) Building material prices. Industrial production l Manufacturing employment.. Manufacturing pay rolls Average wage per employee.. 1 1 Feb. 1940 Jan. 1940 Percent change Feb. 1939 57.1 99.0 85.5 93.2 101.0 99.7 93.8 94.1 46.5 108.0 85.5 93.4 110.3 99.8 94.3 94.5 +22.8 -8.3 0.0 -0.2 -8.4 -0.1 -0.5 -0.4 * 48.3 138.0 85.0 89.6 90.8 92.1 82.5 89.6 Percent change +18.2 -28.3 +0.6 +4.0 +11.2 +8.3 +13.7 +5.0 Corrected for normal seasonal variation. Revised. U. S. Savings Bonds • I M P O E T A N T changes in handling the sale of United States Savings Bonds were announced recently by the Secretary of the Treasury. Beginning April 1, these "baby" bonds will be sold only to individuals and not to corporations or institutional investors. The effect of this regulation is expected to reduce the annual volume of sales by $150,000,000 to $200,000,000, using last year's business as a criterion. According to Mr. Morgenthau, this new order was designed to keep this form of security for its original purpose—that of providing a savings medium for individuals. There is a statutory Kmit Federal Home Loan Bank Review of $10,000, however, on the amount of bonds which any individual may purchase during a calendar year. Savings bond sales during the first two months of this year were nearly double the volume during the corresponding period of 1939. January and February sales totaled $408,303,000 as compared with $207,965,000 in the same months of last year. Residential Construction [Tables 1 and 2} • D W E L L I N G S of the 1- and 2-family type, as well as multifamily structures, participated in renewed building activity during February. Even though February is a short month, there is normally a rise of about 8 percent from the January residential construction level. This year, however, the erection of total residential units increased nearly one-third from January to February, reflecting to a great extent the improvement from abnormally cold January weather in many parts of the country and especially throughout the Southern States. Activity of the United States Housing Authority, which increased by 2,000 units during February, accounted for nearly two-fifths of the rise over January. Officials of the Authority expect to finance a large volume of slum-replacement units later in the year. For the first two months of 1940, residential building volume in cities of 10,000 or more population amounted to 36,500 units—fractionally less than the total reported for the comparable 1939 period. Whereas 1-family, 2-family, and joint home and business units increased slightly, multifamily construction was below the activity displayed in the same months of last year. Small-House Building Costs Both residential labor and material cost indexes for the country as a whole increased fractionally during February. Although these two elements are currently moving together, the sharp rises in labor which occurred in 1937 have not been offset to any great extent by subsequent declines. In February of this year, the index of the cost of labor used in building the standard house was still 10 percent higher than in the average month of 1936. Materials used in building the standard house cost about 5 percent more than in 1936. The rising trend evidenced during the last quarter of 1939 in this index of dealer's cost has been checked during the opening months of this year, but is holding its gain of 2 percent obtained during the first three months of European conflict. The wholesale prices of building materials as evidenced by the U. S. Department of Labor index have strongly resisted the decline shown by other commodities since the beginning of the new year. The building material index advanced from 92.9 during the first week of January to 93.3 in the week ended March 23. During this same period the allcommodity index dropped from 79.5 to 77.9. Consfruction costs for the standard house [Average month of 1936=100] Element of cost Feb. 1940 Jan. 1940 Percent change Feb. 1939 Material Labor 104.5 110.3 104.4 110.2 + 0.1 + 0.1 103.0 112.2 + 1.5 — 1. 7 106.5 106.4 + 0.1 106.0 +0.5 Total Percent change New Mortgage-Lending Activity of Savings and Loan Associations [ Tables 8 and 6] R I S I N G costs for the construction of a standard 6-room frame house were recorded during the preceding quarter-year by a large majority of those cities reporting in March, although only three of these communities had cost increases of $100 or greater in this period. Few cities reported lower costs at the end of the 3-month period. This record, which is itemized on Table 3, page 240, is in contrast to the definite drop which was noted in the cities reporting in the March issue of the R E V I E W , [Tables 4 cmd 5] • April 1940 M R E B O U N D I N G from the seasonally low level of January, new loan volume of savings and loan associations increased 7 percent to a total of $71,500,000 during February, in line with rises for like periods in the previous four years. During the opening two months of this year, a 22-percent increment in loan volume was shown over the corresponding 1939 period, thus starting 1940 at a higher level than any other year since the early '30's. 233 State-chartered savings and loan members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System made 12 percent more loans in February than in the previous month, a better showing than that made by either Federal or nonmember associations. Each of these three types of institutions registered improvement over last year, with Federals showing greatest gains. Foreclosures • Loans for the purchase of existing homes were leaders in the February acceleration in lending activity, having risen 15 percent from the preceding month, while the average increases for construction and refinancing loans were 3 and 4 percent, respectively. Remaining classes showed little change. January-to-February rises in total lending activity were reported in all sections of the country other than the New York and Winston-Salem Districts, with the Cincinnati District taking the lead. New mortgage loans distributed by purpose [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Purpose Feb. 1940 Jan. 1940 Percent change Feb. 1939 Percent change $20, 152 $19, 488 Construction Home purchase- 25, 389 22, 039 14, 590 13, 999 Refinancing Reconditioning. 3,437 3,455 Other purposes. 7,954 7,963 + 3.4 $16, 027 + 15.2 19, 118 + 4.2 12, 551 - 0 . 5 3,593 - 0 . 1 7,020 + 25.7 + 32.8 + 16.2 -4.3 + 13.3 71, 522 66, 944 + 6.8 58, 309 + 22.7 Total ALTHOUGH the 8-percent decline from January in real estate foreclosure activity in metropolitan communities was only slightly more than the normal seasonal January-to-February recession, it brought the index (1926=100) to 99 for February, the smallest monthly number in over 12 years. Fur* ther, February activity was 28 percent below that for the corresponding month of 1939. Foreclosure cases for the first two months of this year were 27 percent below those for the same period of 1939. The recent declines in foreclosure activity have been quite general geographically and no doubt reflect to some extent the reduction in HOLC foreclosures due to the provisions of the Mead-Barry Act. Of the 81 communities reporting for both January and February, 43 showed decreases and 33 showed increases, while five indicated no change from January. Mortgage Recordings [Tables 18 and U] • TOTAL nonfarm mortgage recordings for the first two months of this year amounted to $512,162,000, a gain of 13 percent over the cumulative volume of financing for the same period in 1939. Better than 40 percent of the $60,000,000 increase during this period is attributable to the activity of savings and loan associations; miscellaneous lenders contributed 21 percent of this cumulative rise, while the remaining 35 percent was rather evenly distributed between the other four types of mortgagees. Despite unfavorable weather conditions, the volume of nonfarm mortgage recordings amoimted to $253,646,000 during February, a decrease of only 2 percent from January as compared with a 10-percent decline in the January-February period last year. Registering gains from January in 28 States, savings and loan associations expanded their February Federal Home Loan Bank Review Mortgage recordings by type of mortgagee [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] PerPercent cent Percent change of Feb- Febru- change, ruary ary 1940 Feb. from 1940 volume 1939JanuFeb. amount ary 1940 1940 Type of lender Savings and loan associations Insurance companies Banks, trust companies. Mutual savings banks.__ Individuals Others Total + 3.0 -3. 1 -5.8 -5.5 -4.4 -0.2 29.7 $61, 107 8.5 18, 238 24.8 56, 180 7,401 3.8 17.9 38, 584 15.3 31, 663 + 26.4 + 17.2 + 9.8 + 28.2 + 15.9 + 23.7 -1.9 100.0 213, 173 + 19.0 recording volume by 3 percent to $77,211,000. All other types of lenders showed decreases from January ranging from a minor recession for the miscellaneous group of lenders to a 6-percent decline for banks and trust companies and mutual savings banks. With all lenders contributing to the acceleration in mortgage jfinancing, February recordings were 19 percent larger than in February 1939. Increases ranged from 10 percent for banks and trust companies to 26 percent for savings and loan associations and 28 percent for mutual savings banks. As in January, savings and loan associations again expanded their proportion of total recordings, accounting for 30.5 percent of recordings this month as compared with 28.7 percent in February 1939. Mutual savings banks and miscellaneous lenders increased their share of recordings somewhat, while banks and trust companies, insurance companies and individuals suffered reductions. Banks and trust companies accounted for 24.3 percent this February in contrast to 26.3 percent in February 1939. Federal Savings and Loan System [Table 7] • OF timely interest to the savings and loan industry and the investing public in general is a survey of the progress and current condition of Federal savings and loan associations recently completed by the Division of Research and Statistics. This study, which is summarized in the tabulation below, reveals that: 1. The gross amount of first mortgages held increased $185,000,000 (19 percent) during 1939, while private repurchasable capital advanced by $197,000,000 (24 percent). 2. Real estate holdings are low and are declining rapidly, showing the reduction during the year. Condensed statement of condition of Federal savings and loan associations, Dec. 3 1 , 1 9 3 9 and Dec. 3 1 , 1 9 3 8 [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] All Federals Identical Federals Balance sheet item Dec. 31, 1939 Number of associations First mortgages held (gross) Real estate owned Cash and government obligations Other assets Total assets Private repurchasable capital Government investment Mortgage pledged shares Federal Home Loan Bank advances-. General reserves and undivided profit! Other liabilities Total liabilities April 1940 1,409 Dec. 31, 1939 1,310 Dec. 31, 1938 Percent change 1,310 $1, 284, 859. 0 89, 345. 9 96, 547. 8 107, 228. 3 $1, 171, 697. 9 80, 857. 2 87, 584. 5 96, 098. 3 $986, 956. 0 94, 386. 1 71, 216. 8 87, 747. 5 + 18.7 -14.3 + 23.0 + 9.5 1, 577, 981. 0 1, 436, 237. 9 1, 240, 306. 4 + 15.8 $1, 110, 749. 0 208, 777. 0 13, 698. 0 105, 869. 8 74, 808. 8 64, 078. 4 $1, 012, 823. 6 192, 061. 4 10, 888. 9 94, 749. 1 68, 306. 0 57, 408. 9 $815, 654. 2 203, 859. 9 14, 716. 8 99, 261. 5 60, 638. 1 46, 175. 9 + 24.2 -5.8 -26.0 -4.5 + 12.6 + 24.3 1, 577, 981. 0 1, 436, 237. 9 1, 240, 306. 4 +15. 8 235 Progress in number and assets of Federal savings and loan associations [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Number Type of association New... Converted Total Approximate assets Feb. 29, Jan. 31, 1940 1940 Feb. 29, 1940 Jan. 31, 1940 632 773 632 770 $454, 772 1, 143, 242 $447, 033 1, 128, 052 1,405 1,402 1, 598, 014 1, 575, 085 3. General reserves and undivided profits amount to 84 percent of the dollar amount of real estate owned, reflecting the 13-percent increase in these reserves during 1939. Since the close of last year, mergers among Federal associations have exceeded the number of newlyorganized institutions, bringing the total membership down to 1,405 on February 29. These mergers represent pooling of resources for the purpose of further strengthening the savings and loan industry in various communities. A detailed summary of changes during February in selected financial items of Federal savings and loan associations is presented on page 244. This shows that $8,000,000 more private capital was received during the month than was loaned on mortgages, and that this excess of capital was used in paying off Federal Home Loan Bank advances. Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation [Tables 7 and 8] • INCREASED confidence in the savings and loan industry was displayed by the investing public during 1939. Insurance of accounts has proven itself to be a popular feature in the attraction of new share investments, particularly during the past year when almost 2,000 identical insured savings and loan associations reported a rise of approximately 20 percent in the balance of private repurchasable capital on their books. Kises in first mortgage holdings of these identical insured institutions absorbed all but $8,000,000 of this $255,000,000 increase in private capital during the year. 236 Sharp declines in real estate owned, together with increases in the amount of cash on hand and government obligations held, added to the funds available for investment in new mortgage loans. Reserves and undivided profits of the identical group grew by nearly $11,000,000, or 9 percent, during 1939; and at the end of the year accounted for about 6 percent of their total resources. These reserves and undivided profits of $127,000,000 on December 31 were equal to 85 percent of the book value of their owned real estate. Over two and one-half million private investors in 2,213 associations had their accounts insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation at the end of February of this year. These investors had to their credit $1,900,000,000 in capital, which included dividends credited to accounts. Percentage change in selected balance sheet items of 1,978 identical insured savings and loan associations from December 1938 through December 1939 Total Insured State Balance sheet item Number of associations 1,978 Total assets First mortgages held (net) _ Real estate owned Cash and government obligations. Private investors Private repurchasable capital Government investment Reserves and undivided profit* . 1 668 New Federals 615 Converted Federals 695 Percent Percent Percent Percent + 12 + 7 + 30 + 11 + 16 + 11 + 30 + 15 -15 -15 -15 +9 + 19 + 13 + 29 + 21 + 12 +6 + 28 + 14 + 19 -5 + 10 -2 + 17 -7 +9 + 5 + 51 -4 + 46 + 8 Change from January 1939 to January 1940. Federal Home Loan Bank System [Table 9] M FOLLOWING a January total of $29,000,000 in repayments which was the largest in the history of the Bank System, repayments during February continued at a high level. Repayments of advances amounting to $14,000,000 during the month and advances of only $2,000,000 resulted in a net reducFederal Home Loan Bank Review tion of $12,000,000 in advances outstanding, reducing the balance to the lowest point since April 1937 by the end of the month, when advances outstanding totaled $144,500,000. Substantial reductions in advances outstanding were general in the 12 Banks, with the largest monetary and percentage declines occurring in the Winston-Salem and Cincinnati Districts. The amount of repayments received by each of the Banks (with the exception of the Cincinnati Bank) was less than was received the previous month. However, the advances made in February were also less than January's in all but two of the Bank Districts. Long-term advances comprised 77.7 percent of the total advances outstanding on February 29, 1940, as compared to 74.6 percent on January 31, 1940, and 81.3 percent on February 28, 1939. Four Banks, namely, Indianapolis, Des Moines, Topeka and Los Angeles, increased their percentages of longterm advances during the past year. At the end of February 1940 the membership of the Federal Home Loan Bank System stood at 3,913, a net increase of one over the previous month, resulting from the addition of 12 building and loan associations and the withdrawal of two Federal associations and nine State-chartered associations from membership. The year 1939 was the first to reflect an annual decrease in the total membership. However, the aggregate assets of all members have continued to expand (reaching $4,740,983,000 by the end of 1939), which bears out the fact that nearly one-half of the terminations in membership were due to mergers or consolidations, in accordance with the reorganization programs carried on by the Banks. INTEREST R A T E S The Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati recently announced that the interest rate on all new advances made on or after April 1, 1940, and upon all advances outstanding on that date, would be reduced to 2% per centum per annum. Hunt For Facts (Continued from p. 229) matical proportions as last year. Fifty-seven percent were sent in by Federal associations, 26 percent by insured State-chartered members, and 17 April 1940 percent by uninsured members. Schedules were returned by one Federal out of every two, by 40 percent of the insured State members, and by one uninsured member out of every eight. For each class, a marked gain is shown in comparison with the returns last year, as is evident from the table at the top of page 229, which compares the proportion of the total membership in each class reporting for 1939 and for 1938. N E W F E A T U R E S OF THE 1939 SCHEDULE One outstanding feature of the 1939 schedule is that for the first time, information will be tabulated both by Gross Operating Income size group and by Bank District. This means that a savings and loan association will be able to compare its own promotional activity and expenditure in 1939 with the record of all associations of similar size in its District, in neighboring Districts, or in the country as a whole. A second innovation will be the direct comparison of the total business promotion expenditure in 1939 and in 1938 for a large proportion of the schedules. Supplementing this study of the trend in expenditure will be a detailed comparison of the business development programs of a large number of identical members which reported in both years. Still another objective of the 1939 "Hunt for Facts" was to secure a better picture of cooperative and radio advertising. One question was phrased to determine an association's opinion of the benefit it received in proportion to cost from the cooperative advertising it engaged in last year. As a gauge of possible development of cooperative advertising in 1940, associations were requested to state whether or not they planned to participate in such joint undertakings this year. Answers to the detailed question on the duration of an individual association's radio advertising in 1939, the type of program, the savings and loan features advertised, and the amount of air time and the daily schedule, will provide a far better picture than we have ever had before of the extent of savings and loan use of the air waves and the kinds ol programs they are offering their listeners. In a number of cases, full descriptions of the 1939 radio advertising were included, and copies of the scripts actually used were submitted. The large number of schedules sent in made it impossible to complete any detailed analysis in tune to meet the R E V I E W ' S deadline, but publication of the results will begin in the next issue. 237 Table 1.—Number and estimated cost of new family dwelling units provided in all cities of 10,000 population or over in the United States 1 [Source: Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Compiled from residential building permits reported to U. S. Department of Labor] [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Number of family units provided Jan.-Feb. totals Monthly totals Type of dwelling Jan. 1940 Feb. 1940 Total cost of units Feb. 1939 1940 Jan.-Feb. totals Monthly totals Feb. 1940 1939 Jan. 1940 Feb. 1939 1940 1939 10, 779 8,272 9,447 19, 051 18, 642 $41, 689. 4 $31, 923. 0 $36, 707. 5 $73, 612. 4 $72, 141. 0 3, 467. 4 4, 089. 5 652 1,766 1,370 2, 266. 1 1, 823. 4 1, 774. 3 766 1,000 340.5 449.4 177.4 8 272.0 95 44 160.9 105 40 65 8,960 6,579 * 7, 433 15, 539 U6,630 28, 029. 6 22,411.3 24, 499. 4 50, 440. 9 •51,711.4 1-family dwellings 2-family dwellings Joint home and business 2 3-and-more family dwellings 20, 804 15, 657 U7f576 36, 461 336,737 72, 257. 1 56, 335. 1 3 63,142.1 128, 592. 2 3127, 660. 3 Total residential 1 Estimate is based on reports from communities having approximately 95 percent of the population or all cities with population1 of 10,000 or over. Includes 1- and 2-family dwellings with business property attached. * Revised. Table 2.—Number and estimated cost of new family dwelling units provided in all cities of 10,000 population or over, in February 1940, by Federal Home Loan Bank District and by State [Source: Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Compiled from residential building permits reported to U. S. Department of Labor] [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] All 1- and 2-family dwellings All residential dwellings of family Federal Home Loan Bank District and Number dwelling units State Feb. 1940 20, 804 UNITED STATES _ No. 4—Winston-Salem Alabama District of Columbia Florida 238 11,844 Feb. 1939 Feb. 1940 Feb. 1939 10, 143 $44, 227. 5 $38, 642. 7 2, 049. 1 297 337 1, 324. 7 1, 724. 1 243 6 420 18 37 3 87 4 219 6 89 1 958. 1 16.3 1, 527. 6 32.6 149.0 8.2 445.4 18.0 1, 161. 9 22.0 398.0 3.8 107 6 126 18 37 3 87 4 184 6 55 1 514.3 16.3 604.3 32.6 149.0 8.2 445.4 18.0 1, 011. 9 22. 0 223.0 3.8 6, 197 19, 256. 7 122,564.8 1,503 1,142 6, 597. 1 5, 071. 1 269 5 , 928 1, 542. 3 17, 714. 4 1, 273. 7 21, 291. 1 203 1,300 169 973 1, 013. 5 5, 583. 6 841. 0 4, 230. 1 1,049 653 4, 269. 8 3, 119. 9 516 635 2, 594. 0 3, 043. 4 4 984 61 0 590 63 16.0 4,011.8 242.0 0.0 2, 927. 5 192.4 4 456 56 0 572 63 16.0 2, 351. 0 227.0 0.0 2, 851. 0 192.4 j 3,287 1,879 9, 607. 4 5, 664. 1 1,998 1,388 6, 411. 7 4, 452. 7 144 643 961 207 369 439 265. 3 2, 341. 5 2, 951. 0 314.0 | 1, 374. 9 1 1, 488. 4 | 260.3 1, 274. 7 2, 138. 5 214.0 809. 1 1, 477. 7 5,017 409 4,608 _ No. 3—Pittsburgh Delaware Pennsylvania West Virginia 17, 576 $72, 257. 1 $63, 142. 1 Feb. 1940 2, 691. 8 _ _ __ Feb. 1939 Feb. 1940 Estimated cost 406 No. 2—New York New Jersey New York Number of family dwelling units 727 No. 1—Boston Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont Feb. 1939 Estimated cost __ | 1 1 1 1 137 227 620 1 127 140 434 Federal Home Loan Bank Review Table 2.—Number and estimated cost of new family dwelling units provided in all cities of 10,000 population or over, in February 1940, by Federal Home Loan Bank District and by State—Contd. [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] All 1- and 2-family dwellings All residential dwellings Federal Home Loan Bank District and State Number of family dwelling units Feb. 1940 No. 4—Winston-Salem—Contd. Georgia. Maryland North Carolina South Carolina Virginia Feb. 1939 Number of family dwelling units Estimated cost Feb. 1940 Feb. 1939 Feb. 1940 Feb. 1939 Estimated cost Feb. 1940 Feb. 1939 501 225 289 133 391 139 103 229 228 165 $1, 098. 2 715.2 766.6 286.3 1, 183. 3 $386. 9 342.6 521. 1 661.6 574.6 212 225 273 125 179 139 99 212 88 149 $416. 2 715. 2 743. 7 276. 3 586. 8 $386. 9 334.6 497. 1 189. 6 543. 7 _ __ 1, 047 992 4, 118. 4 3, 537. 9 576 503 2, 697. 3 2, 292. 0 _ __ __ 65 517 465 505 385 102 172.0 2, 658. 6 1, 287. 8 1, 159. 3 2, 034. 2 344.4 57 386 133 67 334 102 160. 0 2,168. 1 369. 2 167. 4 1, 780. 2 344. 4 948 946 4, 146. 9 4, 416. 6 892 798 3, 920. 2 3, 782. $ 124 824 118 828 463.6 3, 683. 3 442.5 3, 974. 1 124 768 118 680 463. 6 3, 456. 6 442. 5 3, 340. 1 No. 7—Chicago.- 431 554 2, 439. 7 2, 893. 7 418 348 2, 388. 6 1, 885. 7 Illinois Wisconsin 353 78 475 79 2, 060. 5 379.2 2, 551. 3 342.4 340 78 273 75 2, 009. 4 379.2 1, 551. 3 334.4 500 285 1, 854. 6 1, 089. 0 353 252 1, 412. 1 1, 015. 8 190 117 184 2 7 41 77 162 0 5 594.6 529.3 716. 1 3.0 11.6 156. 1 350.2 574.6 0.0 8. 1 54 113 177 2 7 41 77 129 0 5 194.6 505.3 697.6 3.0 11.6 156. 1 350. 2 501. 4 0.0 8. 1 3,478 1,877 9, 927. 1 5, 290. 0 1,680 1,568 4, 559. 1 4, 253. 7 72 1,076 323 44 1,963 41 316 115 43 1,362 168.9 3, 638. 5 610.6 118.0 5, 391. 1 84.7 1, 020. 7 217.5 148.6 3, 818. 5 72 180 196 41 1,191 41 172 99 39 1,217 168.9 576.3 298.9 112.8 3, 402. 2 84. 7 462. 1 186. 0 140. 0 3, 380. 9^ 537 448 1, 753. 7. 1, 597. 3 511 400 1, 693. 7 1, 509. 3 139 91 33 274 147 71 29 201 458.6 278.4 137.0 879.7 629.7 199.7 109.9 658.0 123 91. 33 264 99 71 29 201 418.6 278.4 137.0 859.7 541. 7 199. 7 109. 9 658. 0 619 331 1, 977. 8 1, 058. 2 545 319 1, 842. 0 1, 035. 2 14 30 186 80 300 9 3 14 111 29 165 9 43.4 71.3 608. 4 i 189. 7 1, 029. 5 35.5 5.3 27.9 410. 7 66.8 508. 5 39.0 14 30 148 50 294 9 3 14 107 29 157 9 43.4 71.3 529. 4 156. 7 1, 005. 7 35.5 5.3 27. 9 399. 7 66. 8 496. 5 39. 0 No. 12—Los Angeles 3,164 3,008 9, 861. 5 2,555 2,453 8, 787. 0 8, 577. 1 Arizona. California. Nevada 53 3,098 13 53 2,946 9 No. 5—Cincinnati Kentucky Ohio Tennessee _ No. 6—Indianapolis Indiana Michigan __ __ No. 8—Des Moines __ Iowa Minnesota Missouri North Dakota South Dakota _ _ __ __ _ No. 9—Little Rock _ Arizona Louisiana Mississippi New Mexico Texas __ ____ No. 10—Topeka Colorado Kansas Nebraska Oklahoma _ No. 11—Portland.__ Idaho Montana Oregon Utah Washington.. Wyoming 1 ___ ___ ___ ___ __ __ ___ 10, 213. 2 165. 6 j 9, 993. 2 54.4 I 165. 4 9, 673. 4 22.7 l 50 53 159. 6 2,492 8, 573. 0 2,391 13 1 54.4 1 9 1 165. 4 8, 389. 0 22.7 February 1939 multifamily units and costs in New York are revised. April 1940 239 Table 3.—Cost of building the same standard house in representative cities in specific months l NOTE.—These figures are subject to correction [Source: Federal Home Loan Bank Board] Cubic-foot cost Federal Home Loan Bank District and city No. 1—Boston: Hartford, Conn New Haven, Conn Portland, Maine Boston, Mass__ Worcester, Mass Manchester, N. H Providence, R. I Rutland, Vt Total cost 1939 1940 Mar. 1939 Mar. 1940 Mar. 1938 Mar. 1937 Mar. 1936 Mar. Dec. Sept. June Mar. $5, 903 5,793 5,242 6,428 5,716 5,381 6,007 5,272 $5, 836 5,673 5,254 6,336 5,677 5,332 5,949 5,354 $5, 842 5,597 5,294 6,286 5,681 5,427 5,996 5,427 $5, 865 5,629 5,264 6,377 $5, 823 5,771 5,543 6, 191 $6, 043 5,775 5,252 6,412 $5, 636 5,500 5, 124 5, 717 5,507 5,938 5,472 5,440 5,991 5,739 5,652 5,768 5,723 5,427 5,478 5, 329 5,190 5,738 5,709 4,926 5,074 5,477 5, 115 5,176 4,881 4,673 4,953 5, 191 5, 150 5,737 5,579 4,792 4,970 5,477 4,855 4,853 4,645 4,721 4,982 5, 155 5,310 5,655 5,576 4,822 5,009 5,539 4,872 4,952 4,670 4,783 4,936 5, 150 5,663 5,812 5,535 4,876 4,916 5,529 5,085 5,251 4,719 4,838 5,080 5, 142 6,068 5,988 5,666 5, 190 5, 105 5,603 5,408 5,444 4,703 4,755 5,337 5, 056 5,742 5,578 5,228 5,385 5,670 5,468 5,351 4,838 5, 373 4,911 4, 769 5,399 4, 784 4, 991 4,789 5,215 5,051 4,629 4,868 4, 572 $0. 247 .244 . 219 .270 .238 . 225 .251 .222 $0. 244 .235 . 219 .266 .229 .247 .228 $5, 937 5,850 5,256 6,490 5,715 5, 390 6,035 5,321 .219 .239 .238 .205 .209 .235 .208 .213 .203 . 197 .202 .217 .236 . 242 .231 .203 .205 .230 .212 .219 . 197 .202 .212 2 .214 5,264 5,741 5,719 4,921 5,013 5,631 4,998 5, 107 4,863 4,730 4,848 5,199 No. 7—Chicago: Chicago, 111 Peoria, 111 Springfield, 111 Milwaukee, Wis Oshkosh, Wis .283 .293 .295 .253 .246 .285 .268 . 284 .249 .245 6,787 7,024 7,068 6,063 5,904 6,789 6,909 7,073 6,040 * 5, 804 6,768 6,639 6,778 5,943 5,905 6,846 6,556 6,789 5,990 5,921 6,829 6,441 6,812 5,974 5,874 7,021 6,700 6,961 5,800 6,040 7,037 6,557 6,917 5,920 5,812 6,734 6, 108 6, 502 5, 056 5,466 No. 10—Topeka: Denver, Colo Wichita, Kans Omaha, Nebr Oklahoma City, Okla .259 . 248 .257 .252 .265 . 254 . 241 .245 6,222 5,942 6, 156 6,051 6,221 5,909 6,079 6,000 6,276 6,066 5,942 5,893 6,376 6,021 5,778 5,860 6,353 6,087 5,787 5,883 6,562 5,677 5,841 5, 850 6,445 5,593 5,918 5,693 5, 964 5, 164 5, 565 5,217 No. 4—Winston-Salem: Birmingham, Ala Washington, D. C Tampa, Fla Atlanta, Ga Baltimore, Md Cumberland, Md__ Asheville, N. C Raleigh, N. C Salisbury, N. C Columbia, S. C Richmond, Va__ Roanoke, Va _ _ _ 2 2 2 2 2 1 The house on which costs are reported is a detached 6-room home of 24,000 cubic feet volume. Living room, dining room, kitchen, and lavatory on first floor; three bedrooms and bath on second floor. Exterior is wide-board siding with brick and stucco as features of design. Best quality materials and workmanship are used throughout. The house is not completed ready for occupancy. It includes all fundamental structural elements, an attached 1-car garage, an unfinished cellar, an unfinished attic, a fireplace, essential heating, plumbing, and electric wiring equipment, and complete insulation. It does not include wall-paper nor other wall nor ceiling finish on interior plastered surface, lighting fixtures, refrigerators, water heaters, ranges, screens, weather stripping, nor window shades. Reported costs include, in addition to material and labor costs, compensation insurance, and allowance for contractor's overhead and transportation of materials, plus 10 percent for builders' profit. Reported costs do not include the cost of land nor of surveying the land, the cost of planting the lot, nor of providing walks and driveways; they do not include architect's fee, cost of building permit, financing charges, nor sales costs. In figuring costs, current prices on the same building materials list are obtained every three months from the same dealers, and current wage rates are obtained from the same reputable contractors and operative builders. 2 Revised. 240 Federal Home Loan Bank Review RATE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN ALL CITIES OF 10,000 OR MORE POPULATION REPRESENTS THE ESTIMATED NUMBER OF PRIVATELY FINANCED FAMILY DWELLING UNITS PR0VIDE9 PER 100,000 POPULATION Source; Federol Home Loon Bonk Board. Compiled from Building Permits reported to U S. Department of Lobor. FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK DISTRICTS DISTRICT 4 WINSTON SALEM 1939^ in EP^^ ..... r > * =t: JAN. FEB MAR. APR. MAY JUN JUL. AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC. DISTRICT 8 DES MOINES 1939-v 1—• '938_> L B ,r 1931-35 AVG. | ><-l940 JAN. FEB MAR APR MAY . SEP OCT NOV DEC DISTRICT 12 LOS ANGELES JAN. FEB MAR APR MAY JUL. AUS. SEP OCT. MOV JUN JUL AUG. SEP OCT. NOV. OEC. DEC DISTRICT 10 TOPEKA DISTRICT 9 LITTLE ROCK ! .' 9 3 ^J~ 1 L -| 3 1 /I938 n T™! i JUN JUL. AUG. SEP OCT. NOV C i. FEB. MAR APR. MAY AVG. "f'~L 1931-35 AVQ.~> ' JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY f-1931-35 JUN. , I ! APR MAY JUN. JUL. AUG. SEP OCT NOV DEC. SEP OCT NOV. DEC. JAN FEB MAR. J SEP OCT. NOV OEC UNITED STATES AVERAGE 1930-1939 rrU 'JA-"* 20 lr .r-^^l / JSrv J r^J (J\/ ^^VJ ^j PTwJ Lju n| r X 5=ffl EXCLUDING NEW YORK C/TY-J -J SEP April 1940 DEC. SEP. OEC SEP. OEC. SEP I I , I ..I OEC 241 Table 4.—Estimated volume of new mortgage lending activity of savings and loan associations classified by District and type of association [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] February 1940 Federal H o m e Loan B a n k District a n d t y p e of association United S t a t e s : District N o . 1: T o t a l _ . Federal. _ _ _. State member, Nonmember District N o . 2: T o t a l _ Federal. . State member Nonmember. _ _ ... New loans, Feb. 1939 Cumulative new loans (two months) 1940 i 1939 Percent change + 21.6 +33.8 + 15.7 + 11.0 4,415 1,271 2, 125 1,019 + + + + 39.4 63.6 31.3 26.2 12,017 4,285 5,485 2, 247 9,306 2,551 4, 529 2,226 + 29. 1 + 68.0 + 21. 1 + 0. 9 -18.4 -34.9 0.0 -14.3 4,854 1,377 1,252 2,225 + 17.3 + 20.4 + 33.3 + 6.4 12, 673 4,205 3,340 5, 128 10, 587 3, 254 2, 602 4,731 + 19.7 + 29. 2 + 28.4 + 8.4 5,402 1,756 1,358 2,288 + 16. 1 + 16.2 -1.9 + 26.7 4,051 1,076 1,106 1,869 + + + + 54.8 89.7 20.4 55. 1 11, 674 3,797 2,690 5,187 8,424 1,968 2,339 4,117 + 6.8 + 6.3 + 12.4 -3.2 $58, 309 22,298 24, 191 11, 820 6,155 2,079 2,790 1,286 5,862 2,206 2,695 961 + 5.0 -5.8 + 3.5 + 33.8 5,694 1,658 1,669 2,367 6,979 2,547 1,671 2,761 6,272 2,041 1,332 2,899 522 786 941 795 Percent change, Feb. 1939 to Feb. 1940 + 22. 7 $138,466 $113,876 + 33.6 57, 794 43, 192 + 19.6 54, 678 47, 262 + 8.2 25, 994 23,422 944 008 737 199 $71, 29, 28, 12, Total ._ _ Federal. _ _ _ _ S t a t e m e m b e r ._ __ Nonmember. _ January 1940 Percent change, Jan. 1940 to Feb. 1940 $66, 28, 25, 13, District No. 3: Total _ _ Federal. _ State member Nonmember District N o . 4: Total _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Federal . . . _ _ S t a t e m e m b e r . __ __ Nonmember. 10, 048 5,013 3,844 1,191 10, 297 4,563 4,137 1,597 -2.4 + 9.9 -7. 1 -25.4 8,778 3,274 3,636 1,868 + 14.5 + 53.1 + 5.7 -36.2 20, 345 9,576 7,981 2,788 16, 443 6,212 6,910 3,321 + 23.7 + 54. 2 + 15. 5 — 16. 0 District N o . 5: T o t a l ._ ____ F e d e r a l . . ._ _ State member _ Nonmember. _ _ 11, 639 4,167 5,902 1,570 9,525 3,726 4,132 1,667 + 22.2 + 11.8 +42.8 -5.8 9,585 3,259 4,794 1,532 + 21.4 + 27.9 + 23. 1 + 2.5 21, 164 7,893 10, 034 3,237 18, 126 6,777 8,867 2,482 + + + + 16. 8 16. 5 13.2 30.4 District N o . 6: T o t a l . _ . _ . _ Federal State member . . . Nonmember . 3,878 1,812 1,791 275 3,338 1,601 1,480 257 + 16.2 + 13.2 + 21.0 + 7.0 3,215 1,566 1,450 199 + + + + 20.6 15.7 23.5 38.2 7,216 3,413 3,271 532 5,656 2,699 2,650 307 + + + + 27.6 26. 5 23.4 73.3 District N o . 7: T o t a l . . . . Federal State member Nonmember. __ _ _ 7,153 2,699 3,209 1,245 6,881 2,409 3,011 1,461 + 4.0 + 12.0 + 6.6 -14.8 5,444 1,787 2,561 1,096 + + + + 31.4 51.0 25.3 13.6 14, 034 5, 108 6,220 2,706 10, 578 3,452 4,612 2,514 District No. 8: T o t a l . _ _ _ . _ Federal. . . . State member Nonmember. _ _ 3,819 1,805 1,226 788 3,742 1,526 1, 165 1,051 + 2.1 + 18.3 + 5.2 -25.0 3,305 1,498 1,057 750 + 15.6 + 20.5 + 16.0 + 5.1 7,561 3,331 2,391 1,839 5,881 2,565 2,037 1,279 + + + + District N o . 9: T o t a l _ _. _ Federal. _ S t a t e m e m b e r . __ _ Nonmember 4,248 1, 618 2, 387 243 3,809 1,564 2,114 131 + 11.5 + 3.5 + 12.9 + 85.5 4,235 1,772 2,253 210 + 0.3 -8.7 + 5.9 + 15.7 8,057 3, 182 4,501 374 8,088 3,373 4,290 425 — 0. 4 -5. 7 +4. 9 — 12. 0 District N o . 10: T o t a l _ ... __ Federal. _ State member. N o n m e m b e r ._ 3, 326 1, 748 782 796 2, 905 1,437 697 771 + 14.5 + 21.6 + 12.2 + 3.2 2,888 1,234 923 731 + 15.2 + 41.7 -15.3 + 8.9 6,231 3,185 1,479 1,567 5,911 2, 628 1, 796 1, 487 + 5.4 + 21.2 — 17.7 + 5.4 D i s t r i c t N o . i l : Total _ Federal. State member _ Nonmember 2, 577 1, 643 889 45 I 2, 271 1,422 756 93 , + 13.5 + 15.5 + 17.6 -51.6 1,915 1,174 581 160 + 34.6 + 39.9 + 53.0 -71.9 4,848 3,065 1,645 138 3, 636 2, 136 1, 249 251 + 33.3 + 43.5 + 31.7 — 45.0 6,713 3,503 3, 120 90 5, 933 + 13.1 3, 251 1 +7.8 2,521 + 23.8 161 ! - 4 4 . 1 5, 624 3, 010 2, 453 161 + 19.4 + 16.4 + 27. 2 -44. 1 ! 12, 646 6, 754 5, 641 251 | 11, 240 5, 577 5, 381 282 + 12.5 + 21. 1 + 4.8 -11.0 District N o . 12: T o t a l . Federal. _ S t a t e m e m b e r . _ _. Nonmember 242 j | _ _ | | i ! + + + + 38.6 92.9 15.0 26.0 + 32. 7 + 48. 0 + 34. 9 + 7. 6 28. 6 29. 9 17.4 43.8 Federal Home Loan Bank Review Table 5.—Estimated volume of new loans by all savings and loan associations, classified according to purpose and type of association l [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Purpose of loans Type of association 1 Total loans Mortgage loans on homes Period Construc- Home pur- Refinancing tion chase Reconditioning Loans for all other purposes Federals State members Nonmembers $220, 458 $265, 485 $160, 167 $58, 623 $93,263 $797, 996 $286,899 $333, 470 $177, 627 24, 241 11, 669 31, 013 16, 117 22, 627 11,293 7,071 3,662 14,243 7,352 99, 195 50, 093 34, 301 17, 520 42, 952 22, 073 21, 942 10, 500 1939 301, 039 339, 629 182, 025 59, 463 104, 227 986, 383 400, 337 396, 041 190, 005 Jan.-Feb_ February March AprilMay June July August September. October November December._ 32, 126 16, 027 21, 254 23, 727 26, 646 29, 919 26, 865 29, 863 27, 854 29, 255 26, 607 26, 923 36, 621 19, 118 24, 705 29, 903 31, 289 32, 228 29, 638 32, 282 31, 367 33, 383 30, 434 27, 779 24, 300 12, 551 14, 871 15, 384 15, 687 17, 123 15, 353 17, 005 16, 021 15, 835 15, 445 15, 001 6,982 3,593 4,211 4,974 6,069 5,802 5,133 5,909 5,544 5,784 4,720 4,335 13,847 113, 876 58, 309 I 7, 020 73, 378 8, 337 9, 437 1 83,425 89, 123 9, 432 94, 154 9, 082 85, 172 8, 183 95, 038 9, 979 89, 732 8, 946 93, 297 9,040 86,076 8, 870 83, 112 9, 074 43, 192 22, 298 29,811 33, 400 36, 358 39, 094 34, 055 40, 645 37, 090 37, 854 34, 785 34, 053 47, 262 24, 191 30, 124 32, 562 35, 426 36, 465 34, 146 37, 340 36, 989 37, 847 34, 671 33, 209 23, 422 11,820 13, 443 17, 463 17, 339 18, 595 16, 971 17, 053 15, 653 17, 596 16, 620 15, 850 Jan.-Feb __ 39, 640 47, 428 28, 589 6,892 15, 917 1 138, 466 57, 794 54, 678 25, 994 January._ February 19, 488 20, 152 22, 039 25, 389 13, 999 14, 590 3,455 3,437 66, 944 71, 522 28, 008 29, 786 25, 737 28, 941 13, 199 12, 795 1938 Jan.-Feb February __ _ __ __ _ 1940 1 7,963 7, 954 Revised figures for 1936, 1937, and for the first 10 months of 1938 appear on p. 93 of the December 1938 issue. Table 6.—Index of wholesale price of building materials in the United States [1926=100] [Source: U. S. Department of Labor] Period 1938: February 1939: February March April May June July August September October November December 1940: January February Change: Feb. 1940-Jan. 1940. Feb. 1940-Feb. 1939 All building mate- Brick and tile rials Cement * Lumber Paint and Plumbing paint ma- and heat- Structural steel ing terials 91. 1 89.6 89.8 89. 6 89. 5 89.5 89.7 89.6 90.9 92.8 93.0 93.0 93.4 93.2 91.5 92.4 92.5 93.0 91.7 91. 1 90. 6 90.5 91.0 91.5 91.6 91. 6 91. 6 91.2 89.8 91. 2 91.5 91. 5 91.5 91.5 91.5 91.3 91.3 91.3 91.3 91.3 91.4 91.4 91.0 92. 6 92. 1 91.5 91.2 90.7 91.8 91.8 93.7 98.0 98.3 97.8 97.6 97.6 79.2 80. 5 81.5 81.3 81. 6 82.4 82.2 82. 1 84.7 85.7 84.9 85. 5 87.2 86.8 79.6 79.2 79.3 79.3 79.3 79.3 79. 3 79.3 79.3 79.3 79.3 79.3 79.3 79. 1 114. 9 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 107.3 - 0 . 2% + 4. 0% -0. 4% -1.3% 0.0% + 0. 2% 0.0% + 5.4% - 0 . 5% + 7. 8% -0.3% -0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 1 Based on delivered prices at 48 cities and introduced into the calculation of the Bureau's general indexes of wholesale prices beginning with March 1939. April 1940 243 Table 7.—Monthly operations of 1,352 identical Federal and 716 identical insured State-chartered savings and loan associations reporting during January and February 1940 [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] 716 insured State members 1,352 Federals Change January to February Type of operation January February February January 1, 470, 128 1, 443, 590 Percent + 1.8 952, 221 944, 877 $1, 155, 012. 8 Paid on private subscriptions 192, 308. 8 Treasury and HOLC subscriptions. _ $1, 134, 026. 8 192, 466. 1 + 1.9 -0. 1 $687, 775. 8 1 38, 426. 5 $682, 770. 4 1 38, 422. 2 1, 347, 321. 6 1, 326, 492. 9 + 1.6 726, 202. 3 721, 192. 6 Private share investments during month. Repurchases during month Mortgage loans made during month: a. New construction b. Purchase of homes c. Refinancing d. Reconditioning e. Other purposes 36, 300. 2 15, 663. 6 71, 231. 5 37, 225. 5 -49.0 -57.9 14, 473. 1 9, 526. 5 29, 238. 7 18, 750. 1 11, 017. 5 8, 467. 1 6, 462. 4 1, 077. 4 2, 171. 9 10, 342. 1 7, 635. 5 5, 974. 2 1, 135. 1 2, 344. 2 + 6.5 + 10.9 + 8.2 -5. 1 -7.4 4, 070. 1 4, 324. 0 2, 713. 7 516.9 1, 757. 2 3, 453. 3 4, 037. 8 2, 262. 8 533.9 1, 628. 9 Total Mortgage loans outstanding end of month. Borrowed money as of end of month: From Federal Home Loan Banks From other sources 29, 196. 3 1, 270, 854. 3 27, 431. 1 1, 258, 343. 1 + 6.4 + 1.0 13, 381. 9 647, 556. 5 11, 916. 7 643, 603. 3 77, 524. 2 3, 466. 9 85, 589. 2 4, 186. 0 -9.4 -17. 2 30, 178. 0 2, 982. 1 32, 197. 6 3, 236. 5 80, 991. 1 1, 567, 813. 9 89, 775. 2 1, 550, 458. 6 -9.8 + 1.1 33, 160. 1 893, 875. 7 35, 434. 1 8, 449. 7 Share liability at end of month: Private share accounts (number) Total Total Total assets, end of month 1 2 Includes only HOLC subscriptions. Less than 0.1 percent. Table 8.—Institutions insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Cumulative number at specified dates Number of private investors in repurchasable shares 2 Assets Private repurchasable capital Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Dec. 31, Jan. 31, Feb. 29, 1940 1940 1939 1936 1938 1937 Feb. 29, 1940 Feb. 29, 1940 Feb. 29, 1940 809 772 632 1, 007, 900 1, 081, 600 414, 700 $945, 868 1, 143, 005 454, 772 $725, 682 873, 615 302, 043 2,213 2, 504, 200 2, 543, 645 1, 901, 340 Type of association State-chartered associations Converted Federals. - __ __ New Federals. __ _ Total 382 560 634 566 672 641 1,576 1,879 3 737 723 637 2,097 4 799 763 634 2, 196 5 805 768 632 2,205 6 1 Beginning Dec. 31, 1936, figures on number of associations insured include only those associations which have remitted premiums. Earlier figures include all associations approved by the Board for insurance. 2 This series revised to agree with schedules submitted each month by insured institutions. Private investors in repurchasable 3shares in insured State-chartered members numbered 931,600 in June 1939; no other association type revised. In addition, 6 Federals with assets of $1,505,000 had been approved for conversion but had not been insured as of Dec. 31. 4 In addition, 12 Federals with assets of $3,667,000 had been approved for conversion but had not been insured as of Dec. 31. 5 In addition, 2 Federals with assets of $817,000 had been approved for conversion but had not been insured as of Jan. 31. 6 In addition, 1 Federal with assets of $237,000 had been approved for conversion but had not been insured as of Feb. 29. 244 Federal Home Loan Bank Review Table 9.—Lending operations of the Federal Home Loan Banks Table 11.—Summary of operations of H O L C Reconditioning Division through Feb. 2 9 , 1 9 4 0 1 [Thousands of dollars] February 1940 Federal Home Loan Banks AdRepayAdvances ments vances $22 506 264 424 91 12 315 75 60 56 37 149 Boston. _ New York Pittsburgh. « Winston-Salem _ _ Cincinnati Indianapolis Chicago Des Moines_ _ Little Rock Topeka. _ _ _ Portland Los Angeles $703 1,379 715 2,423 2,159 612 948 1,018 1,048 991 527 1,761 2,011 14, 284 Total J a n - F e b . 1940 February 1939___ J a n - F e b . 1939 February 1938___ J a n - F e b . 1938 Table Advances outstanding, Repay- Feb. 29, ments 1940 January 1940 6,397 2,334 5,257 4,071 7,793 $159 $1, 576 1,801 1,598 251 1,784 595 5,532 489 1,597 210 1,504 335 3,012 106 3,138 173 1,742 120 1, 111 50 1,717 97 4,600 $5, 313 19, 149 14, 275 12, 883 15, 164 9,050 22, 572 13, 644 7,287 9,021 4, 117 12, 040 4,386 28, 911 144, 515 43, 195 10, 571 33, 485 7, 090 20, 370 10.—Government T y p e of operation Cases received 2 Feb. 1, 1940 J u n e 1, 1934 through through J a n . 3 1 , 19401 F e b . 29, 1940 1, 126, 372 Cumulative through Feb. 29, 1940 1, 132, 187 5, 815 Contracts a w a r d e d : Number 727, 541 Amount $146, 751, 167 3, 726 731, 267 $958, 821 $147, 709, 988 Contracts pleted: Number Amount 726, 457 3, 972 $985, 513 $145, 473, 393 com722, 485 $144, 487, 880! 1 All figures a r e subject t o adjustment. Figures d o n o t include 52,269 reconditioning jobs, a m o u n t i n g t o approximately $6,800,000, completed b y t h e Corporation prior t o the organization of t h e Reconditioning Division on J u n e 1, 1934. 170, 614 187, 518 investments in savings and loan associations 2 Includes all p r o p e r t y m a n a g e m e n t , advance, insurance, and loan cases referred t o t h e Reconditioning Division which were n o t withdrawn prior t o preliminary inspection or cost estimate prior t o Apr. 15, 1937. Table 12.—Properties acquired by H O L C through l foreclosure and voluntary deed 1 [Amounts are shown in t h o u s a n d s of dollars] Period Treasury Home Owners' Loan Corporation Federals 2 State members Type of operation Oct. 1935-Feb. 1940: Applications: Number Amount Investments: Number. Amount Repurchases Net outstanding investments February 1940: Applications: Number Amount Investments: Number Amount Repurchases _ _ Federals Total 5,571 4, 602 969 1, 862 $50, 4011 $200, 804 $62, 657 $263, 461 724 4,911 4, 187 1, 831 $49, 3001 $175, 717 $44, 291 $220, 008 $15, 158 $13, 158 $3, 856 $17, 014 $34, 142 $162, 559 $40, 435 $202, 994 0 0 1 $50 1 $25 2 $75 ol 1 $15 $618 2 $33 $250 3 $48 $868 0 $822 1 Refers t o n u m b e r of separate investments, n o t t o n u m b e r of associations in which investments a r e m a d e . 2 I n v e s t m e n t s in Federals b y t h e T r e a s u r y were m a d e b e tween December 1933 a n d November 1935. April 1940 Prior to 1935 1935: J a n . 1 through 1936: J a n . 1 through 1937: J a n . 1 through 1938: J a n . 1 through 1939: J a n . 1 through July August September October November December 1940: J a n u a r y February Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 J u n e 30 G r a n d total to F e b . 29, 1940 Number 9 1,097 20, 324 50, 206 50, 919 19, 509 2,773 2,857 2,590 2,445 2,356 1,800 1,567 1,311 159, 763 1 Does n o t include 9,269 properties bought in b y H O L C a t foreclosure sale b u t awaiting expiration of t h e redemption period before title in absolute fee can be obtained. I n addition to t h e 159,763 completed cases, 916 properties were sold a t foreclosure sale t o parties other t h a n t h e H O L C a n d 24,361 cases h a v e been withdrawn d u e t o p a y m e n t of delinquencies b y borrowers after foreclosure proceedings were authorized. 245 Table 13.—Summary of estimated nonfarm mortgage recordings/ $20,000 and under, during February 1940 (Amounts F e d e r a l Home L o a n B a n k District and State Savings & loan associations Number Amount 31,142 $77,211 UNITED STATES s hown are in thousands B a n k s and Mut i a l trust companies s a v i n g s banks Insurance companies Number Amount Number Amount Number Amount Number 4,269 $21,376 19,954 $61,691 2,548 of dollars) Oth e r mortg i g e e s Indivi duals 1 Numbe r Amount Amount To t a l Number $9,485 24,037 $44,714 12,301 $39,169 94,251 1 Amount Amount per capita (nonfarm) $253,646 $2.75 2,275 7,171 188 1,007 605 2,428 1,423 4,625 1,283 2,974 777! 2,348 | 6,551 20,553 J 215 199 1,490 136 151 84 749 403 4,803 425 530 261 37 12 118 10 5 6 222 36 644 52 21 32 196 91 227 27 47 17 804 257 1,003 108 190 66 328 228 662 72 88 45 1,220 312 2,395 225 333 139 364 85 646 61 90 37 890 105 1,560 138 196 85 179 72 411 40 51 24 685 135 1,187 110 163 68 1,319 687 3,554 346 432 213 4,570 1,248 11,593 1,058 1,433 651 [ 1,626 4,812 170 1,108 1,154 4,468 792 3,593 2,083 5,082 1,186 4,559 7,011 23,622 699 927 2,080 2,732 80 90 501 607 563 591 2,371 2,097 57 735 250 3,343 814 1,269 2,127 2,955 553 633 1,779 2,780 2,766 4,245 9,108 14,514 2.33 1.22 1,920 50 1,617 253 5,102 133 4,500 469 164 27 109 28 890 148 560 182 1,529 49 1,167 313 5,355 232 4,165 958 108 22 80 6 423 83 330 10 1,448 90 1,156 202 3,499 171 2,980 348 876 20 2,952 99 2,656 197 6,045 258 4,863 924 18,221 866 15,191 2,164 4.51 1.73 1.69 5,128 11,607 598 2,649 2,084 4,979 25 106 3,734 5,581 1,924 4 , 7 2 4 13,493 29,646 239 363 566 484 810 1,653 351 662 289 1,807 1,654 897 2,062 2,939 571 1,388 76 41 234 91 21 52 31 52 311 283 981 423 86 225 121 219 215 68 269 457 133 363 233 346 375 374 648 992 388 744 430 1,028 419 201 701 454 381 708 411 459 460 522 1,506 627 765 580 331 790 205 254 396 221 127 360 119 242 No. 5—Cincinnati 4,283 12,188 389 2,244 2,235 6,167 Ohio Tennessee 720 3,257 306 1,606 9,869 713 85 242 62 365 1,591 288 322 1,357 556 734 4,290 1,143 No. 1—Boston Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont No. 2—New York New Jersey New York No. 3—Pittsburgh __ Pennsylvania West V i r g i n i a No. 4~Winston-Salem D i s t r i c t of Columbia Maryland South Carolina 734 122 430 1,044 1,128 297^ 322 697 228 578 1,154 927 2,166 1,707 1,497 3,136 1,145 1,761 1,865 4,030 5,917 3,236 3,729 5,185 1,681 4,003 25 106 52 332 1,342 2,214 1,167 3,167 9,468 26,312 52 332 175 983 184 206 1,782 226 42 527 598 159 1,833 1,175 1,344 6,418 1,706 3,070 19,697 3,545 2,681 4,964 629 2,756 2,527 6,786 24 50 1,186 2,155 687 2,398 7,734 19,109 2,180 501 3,644 1,320 286 343 1,045 1,711 940 1,587 2,253 4,533 24 50 541 645 885 1,270 251 436 555 1,843 4,222 3,512 8,432 10,677 2,510 7,195 325 1,762 1,192 4,706 2 4 1,479 3,623 1,082 5,645 6,590 22,935 Wisconsin 1,820 690 5,505 1,690 273 52 1,501 261 2,130 1,493 945 137 5,162 483 4,493 2,097 17,591 5,344 No. 8—Des Moines 1,939 3,987 407 1,680 530 546 723 121 19 962 1,356 1,396 250 23 84 168 99 24 32 405 643 421 134 77 No. 9 — L i t t l e Rock 2,610 5,750 582 Louisiana Mississipp i New Mexico Texas 301 788 171 91 1,259 556 2,103 268 214 2,609 31 75 34 1,835 201 516 423 695 No. 6—Indianapol i s Mich igan No. 7—Chicago Iowa Minnesota Missouri North Dakota South Dakota No. 10—Topeka Colorado Kansas Nebraska Oklahoma No. II—Portland Idaho Montana Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming No. 12—Los Angeles Arizona California Nevada _ 3.01 1.99 2.81 2.63 2.14 2.64 1.43 8.29 4.98 2.17 2.68 3.30 2.04 2.72 2.13 3.50 2.53 3.48 2.63 3,293 1,413 2 4 724 755 1,556 3,190 27 101 1,937 3,147 681 1,703 6,547 13,808 485 361 569 55 86 970 855 1,162 79 124 310 511 1,007 66 43 514 808 1,642 107 76 105 89 412 69 6 267 217 1,030 176 13 1,514 1,702 2,810 335 186 3,118 3,980 5,651 746 313 2.09 2.38 2.25 2.63 1.03 2,738 657 1,688 2,088 3,303 441 "92 97 97 38 333 223 176 190 95 1,004 211 597 200 115 965 293 659 239 166 1,946 1,298 141 307 3,534 125 322 138 3 2,150 7,235 776 1,864 612 291 3,692 17,013 1,509 3,885 1,070 587 9,962 2.05 3.06 1.65 2.22 2.87 3,577 190 751 714 1,628 1,407 1,939 46 694 669 312 625 235 109 2,253 1,648 4,815 9,543 446 869 770 1,492 23 57 57 53 83 227 265 176 133 247 53 281 413 513 480 213 159 555 930 232 222 555 125 199 66 279 448 372 164 664 962 1,232 758 1,863 2,320 2,213 1,521 3,489 1,449 3,044 160 594 1,008 2,242 1,109 1,685 625 1,940 4,446 9,756 52 106 361 128 742 60 115 223 720 298 1,478 210 16 6 57 13 68 23 27 227 55 262 55 60 119 153 580 41 122 161 251 425 1,174 109 324 245 490 102 402 122 57 24 178 31 317 18 III 29 591 52 1,120 37 2,886 7,814 467 3,197 4,693 18,054 200 127 357 91 293 41 4,941 9,512 lr329 4,551 68 2,803 15 167 7,610 37 II 454 2 71 3,110 16 131 4,533 29 395 17,571 88 269 4,612 60 473 8,934 105 41 1,279 9 520 84 4,448 13,681 115 19 731 46 1 27 101 too 602 95 251 6 12 89 239 no 380 323 1,078 416 2,089 160 1 14,316 695 685 2,291 932 4,675 478 2.65 2.60 3.08 1.88 1.92 2.54 2.71 2.06 3.14 2.38 3.71 3.14 43,128 1,190 41,673 265 1 3.54 8.24 3.55 1 Based upon county reports submitted through the cooperation of savings and loan associations, the U. S. Savings and Loan League, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the American T i t l e Association. 246 Federal Home Loan Bank Review Table 14 —Estimated volume of nonfarm mortgages recorded, by type of mortgagee [Amounts are shown in thousands of dollars] Savings and loan associations Insurance companies Banks and trust companies Mutual savings banks Individuals Other mortgagees All mortgagees Period Number: 1989: February *__ March April May •Tune July August September, _ October November. __ December. _. 1940: January February Total Percent 25, 975 36, 008 38, 167 43, 648 43, 655 41, 048 44, 224 41, 946 42, 091 38, 671 38, 0181 30, 055 31, 142 32.0 32.8 34.5 34.8 34. 1 34.6 35.3 35.6 34.6 33.3 33.61 31.7 33.0 Amount: 1939: February *__. $61, 107 92, 337 March 94, 857 April 109, 652 May 113,4791 June 105, 890 July 112, 516 August September. _ 104, 548 October 105, 229 November. __ 98, 889 December. 95, 724 74, 933 1940: January 77,211 February._ 1 Total Percent 3, 532j 5, 5471 5, 240 6, 009 6, 335 5, 946 6, 014 5, 352 5, 636 5, 443 5, 694 4, 428 4, 269! 28.7 $18, 238! 29.5 28, 316 31.2 26, 839 31.4 29, 922 31.51 30, 017 32. 1 29, 777| 32.6! 30, 796 33.0 28, 086 31.6 28, 503 30.4 28, 2861 30.2 28, 990 29.0| 22, 059 30.5 21, 376 Total Percent Total 937 22. 1 764 21.6 768 20. 6 658 20.4 779 20.9 860! 19.3 750 19.7 627 20.0 589 21.0 594 21.2 433 21. 6 721 21.9 954 21.2 2, 243 2, 895 2, 978 3, 825| 3, 524 3, 909 3, 908 3, 924 3, 718 3, 994 3, 692 2, 607 2, 548 8. 6 $56, 180 26.3! 9. 1 79, 920 25. 6| 8.8! 73, 320 24. 1 8.6 85, 4171 24.4 8.3 89, 563 24.8 9.0 74, 9601 22.7 8.9 80, 049 23.2 8.9 74, 5771 23.5 8.61 84, 678 25.4 8.7 80, 484 24.71 9.2| 80, 971 25.6| 8.5 65, 472| 25.3 8.4! 61, 691 24.31 $7, 401 4.4| 5. 1 4.7| 4.8 4. 9| 5.0 4. 8| 4.5 4.61 4.7 5.0 4.7 4.5 17, 23, 22, 25, 26, 22, 24, 23, 25, 24, 24, 20, 19, Percent 2.8 2.6 2.7| 3.0 2.8| 3.3 3. 1 3.3 3.0 3.51 3.2 2.7 2.7 Percent 21, 386 28, 729! 28, 441 30, 9041 30, 710 26. 3| 10, 095! 26. 1 12, 930 25.7| 12, 976 24.6 15, 560 24.0 17, 002 25.4 14, 693 24.9 15, 339 24.7 14, 009 24. 3| 15, 195 24. 1 15, 336 23.9! 14, 3701 25.8 12, 478 25.5 12, 301 30, 209 31, 29, 29, 27, 27, 24, 24, 3.5| $33, 3. 1 57, 10, 108 3.31 55, 12, 195 3.5 59, 12, 048 3.3 58, 13, 679 4.2 58, 13, 844 4.0 58, 13, 470' 4.2 53, 12, 966 3.9| 53, 14, 571 4.5 52, 13, 5501 4.3 49, 10, 032 3.9! 46, 9, 485 3.7 44, 9, 8221 PerTotal cent Total 174 055 577 955 034 494 037 584 18.1 $31, 663 036 18.3! 45, 034 667 18.3 43, 560 453 17.0 52, 815 967 16.4 56, 794 056 17.6 47, 621 826 17.0 49, 549 018! 16.7 43, 457 909| 16. 2|47, 794 183 16. 1 50, 6991 6771 15.7 47, 629 781 18. 1 39, 239 7141 17.6 39, 169 12.4! 11.8 11.8 12.4 13.3 12.4 12.2 11.9 12.5 13.2 12.7 13.2| 13. 1 Combined total Percent 81, 1681 100. 0 109, 873 100.0 110, 570 100.0 125, 6041 100.0 128, 005 100. 0 118, 665! 100. 0 125, 409! 100.0 117,913 100.0 121, 806 100.0 115, 993 100. 0 113, 241 100. 0 94, 783 100. 0 94, 251 100. 0 14.8 $213, 14. 4| 312, 14.3 304, 15. 1 349, 15.7 360, 14.4 329, 14.3 345, 13.7 317, 14.3 333, 15.6 325, 15.0 316, 15.2 258, 15.5 253, 173 100. 0 465 100.0 351 100. 0 454 100. 0 868 100. 0 983| 100. 0 580 100.0 156 100.0 079| 100.0 112 100.0 541 100. 0 5161 100.0 646 100. 0 Revised. Resolutions of the Board AMENDMENT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN SYSTEM, RELATIVE TO NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETINGS: Adopted March 6, 1940; effective March 8, 1940. P a r t 203 of the Rules and Regulations for the Federal Savings and Loan System was amended by the addition of a new section (203.19) concerning notice to members of annual meetings of Federal associations. This new section reads: 203.19 Meetings of members. Each Federal association shall either publish a notice of its annual meeting of members once a week for the two successive calendar weeks (in each instance on any day of the week) prior to the date on which such annual meeting shall convene, in a newspaper printed in the English language and of general circulation in the city or county in which the home office of the Federal association is located, or mail a copy of such notice, postage prepaid, at least 15 days and not more than 30 days prior to the date on which such annual meeting shall convene to each of its memApril 1940 bers of record a t his last address appearing upon its books. Such notice shall state the name of the Federal association, the place of the annual meeting and the time when it shall convene. A similar notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each office of the Federal association during the 14 days immediately preceding the date on which such annual meeting shall convene. AMENDMENT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR F E D E R A L SAVINGS A N D LOAN SYSTEM, R E L A T I V E T O PROCEDURE FOR VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION: A d o p t e d March 20, 1940; effective March 22, 1940. In accordance with Board regulations, a proposed amendment relative to the procedure for voluntary dissolution of Federals was listed in the February 1940 R E V I E W . This amendment has now been formally adopted, and subparagraph (1) of subsection (a), Section 204.2 now reads: (1) For the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation to be appointed, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 405 and 406 of the National Housing Act, as amended 247 (48 Stat. 1259, 49 Stat. 299; 12 U. S. C. 1728, 1729), and pertinent regulations of such Corporation, as receiver for the purpose of liquidation. Also formally adopted was the new subparagraph (4) of this subsection, which reads: (4) For dissolution in such other manner as may be proposed by the directors and approved by the Board and which appears to be to the best interest of all concerned. AMENDMENT TO RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK SYSTEM, RELATIVE TO ADVANCES TO MEMBERS: Adopted March 4, 1940; effective March 8, 1940. 1. Subsection (a) of Section 5.1 of the Rules and Regulations for the Federal Home Loan Bank System was amended to read: (a) Borrowing capacity of members. The borrowing capacity for each member shall be the amount for which the member can legally obligate itself. In each case where there is no legal limit on the amount a member can borrow, its borrowing capacity shall be 50 percent of its net assets. Under the old ruling, the borrowing capacity for each member was the amount for which the member could legally obligate itself, or 50 percent of its net assets, whichever was lower. 2. Subsection (b) of Section 5.1 was amended by the addition of the following sentence at the end of the paragraph: Reviews of lines of credit shall be comprehensive enough actually to determine the current condition of a member, in order that the review of its line of credit can be made intelligently. Directory (Continued from p. 220) The Size of Building Operations • T H E business of building houses is one of the largest of American industries, yet it is doubtful if there is any other business in which the operating unit is so small. This statement is substantiated by a recent article appearing in the Monthly Labor Review 1 and reporting the findings of the Bureau of Labor Statistics which has been studying the size of building operations in residential construction. From a preliminary analysis of the building permits for l-family houses erected in 30 cities in 1938, it was discovered that 60 percent of the builders took out permits for only one house. In fact, a builder who obtained permission to build 10 or more houses during the year could be classed as a large-scale operator for only 6 percent of all builders were in this class. The small builders include subcontractors and craftsmen who build one or two houses, as a speculation between jobs or after hours, and also owners acting as contractors on their own homes—an important item in the totals for some of the smaller cities. I t may be seen from the table that of the total houses built, those who erected only one dwelling constructed about as many units as those in the next three classes. Although less than 10 percent of the houses were erected by those who built 100 or more houses, it may also be said that 6 percent of the builders accounted for almost half (45.8 percent) of the dwellings constructed. Distribution of builders and of houses in 30 cities, by number of 1-family houses erected in 1938 III. INSTITUTIONS INSURED BY THE FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN INSURANCE CORPORATION BETWEEN FEBRUARY 16 AND MARCH 15, 1940 Builders DISTRICT NO. 3 PENNSYLVANIA: Lansdowne: Lansdowne Federal Savings & Loan Association, 32 South Lansdowne Avenue. Philadelphia: Girard Federal Savings & Loan Association, 6740 Sprague Street. DISTRICT NO. 4 Number of houses per builder Houses constructed Number Percent of total Number Percent of total _ 2,891 100.0 9,697 100. 0 1,735 731 250 122 34 12 7 60.0 25.3 8.6 4.3 1. 1 0.5 0. 2 1,735 1,910 1,610 1,703 1, 129 783 827 17.9 19. 7 16. 6 17. 6 11. 6 8. 1 8.5 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.- Washington: Progressive Building & Loan Association, 1416 F Street, Northwest. DISTRICT NO. 5 OHIO: Martins Ferry: Fidelity Savings & Loan Company, 22 South Fourth Street. DISTRICT NO. 6 INDIANA: North Vernon: North Vernon Building & Savings Association of North Vernon, Indiana, Main Street & Madison Avenue. DISTRICT NO. 10 Total... 1 house._ 2 to 4 houses 5 to 9 houses. _ 10 to 24 houses 25 to 49 houses 50 to 99 houses 100 houses or more. .. KANSAS: Erie: Erie Building & Loan Association. 248 i Monthly Labor Review, U. S. Department of Labor, Vol. 49, No. 4. Federal Home Loan Bank Review U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING O F F I C E : 1 9 4 0 FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK DISTRICTS ^OW M M BOUNDARIES OP FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK DISTRICTS • FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANK CITIES. OFFICERS OF FEDERAL HOME LOAN BANKS BOSTON CHICAGO B. J. ROTHWSLL, Chairman; E. H. WEEKS, Vice Chairman; W. H. NEAVES, President; H. N. FAULKNER, Vice President; FREDERICK WiitAifT, JR., Treasurer; L. E. DONOVAN, Secretary; P. A. HENDRICK, Counsel. C. E. BROUGHTON, Chairman; H. G. ZANDER, JR., Vice Chairman; A. R« GARDNER, President; J. P. DOMEIER, Vice President; H. C. JONES, NEW Treasurer; CONSTANCE M. WRIGHT, Secretary; UNGARO & SHERWOOD, Counsel, YORK GEORGE MACDONALD, Chairman; F. V, D. LLOYD, Vice Chairman; G. L. BLISS, President; F. G. STICKSL, JR., Vice President-General Counsel; ROBERT G. CLARKSON, Vice President-Secretary; DENTON C LYON, Treasurer. DES PITTSBURGH E. T. TRIGG, Chairman; C. S. TIPPETTS, Vice Chairman; R. H. RICHARDS, President; G. R. PARKER, Vice President; H. H. GABBER, Secretary-Treasurer; R. A. CUNNINGHAM, Counsel. LITTLE ROCK W. C. JONES, JR., Chairman; W. P. GULLET, Vice Chairman; B. H§ WOOTEN, President; H. D. WALLACE, Vice President-Secretary; J. C. CONWAY, Vice President; W. F. TARVIN, Treasurer; W. H. CLARK, JR., Counsel. WINSTON-SALEM E. C. BALTZ, Vice Chairman; O. K. LAROQUE, President-Secretary; G. E. WALSTON, Vice President-Treasurer; Jos. W. HOLT, Assistant Secretary. MOINES C. B. BOBBINS, Chairman; E. J. RUSSELL, Vice Chairman; R. J. RICHARD, SON, President-Secretary; W. H. LOHMAN, Vice President-Treasurer; J. M. MARTIN, Assistant Secretary; A. E. MUELLER, Assistant TreatH'urer. TOPEKA P. F. GOOD, Chairman; G. E. MCKINNH, Vice Chairman; C. A. STERLING, President-Secretary; R. H. BURTON, Vice President-Treasurer; JOHN S. DEAN, JR., General Counsel. CINCINNATI PORTLAND WM. MEGRUB BROCK, Vice Chairman; 'WALTER D. SHULTJS, President; W. E. JULIUS, Vice President; DWIGHT WEBB, JR., Secretary; A. L. F. S. MCWILLIAMS, Vice Chairman; F. H. JOHNSON, President-Secretary; MADDOX, Treasurer; TAFT, STETTINIUS & HOLLISTER, General Counsel. IRVING BOGARDUS,. Vice President-Treasurer; Mrs. E. M. JENNESS, Assistant Secretary. INDIANAPOLIS Los ANGELES H. B. WELLS, Chairman; F. S. CANNON, Vice Chairman-Vice President; FRED T. GREENE, President; G. E. OHMART, 2nd Vice President; J. C* D. G. DAVIS, Chairman; A. J. EVERS, Vice Chairman; M. M. HURFORD President; C. E. BERRY, Vice President; F. C. NOON, Secretary-Treas- MORDBN, Secretary-Treasurer; JONES, HAMMOND, BUSCHMANN & GARD- urer; VIVIAN SIMPSON, Assistant Secretary; RICHARD FITZPATRICK, NER, Counsel. General Counsel.
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