HOUSING: Contrary to Rumor

Ever since President Truman restricted housing credit a month ago, the building industry has been in a sweat. The Government was going to halt all house construction, so the rumors went, or at least impose such stiff controls that only Government-financed housing would be able to get materials. In Washington last week moonfaced Thomas P. Coogan, president of the National Association of Home Builders (17,000 members), and his executive committee sat down with federal officials to find out just how hard housing would be hit by rearmament.

In two days and most of one night of conferring, sustained by 20 gallons of black coffee and 200 Havana cigars, the builders learned that things might not be too bad after all. Said President Coogan: the current record rate of housing starts (1,250,000 a year) would be allowed to continue for another 60 to 90 days, then would be cut back; eventually, the housing boom might be cut 25-50%.

If & when that happened, there would still be far more houses being built than at any time during World War II, when new housing was almost completely banned in many areas. Furthermore, Government officials said they would try to hold down production by a further tightening of mortgage credit, rather than by priorities and allocations.

Present military requirements for most building materials are limited. The armed forces now expect to need only 1.5 billion board feet of lumber for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1951—about one week's supply for the housing industry. "The present shortage of lumber and other major building items is largely a temporary condition caused by seasonal factors," said Coogan. "Plenty of lumber will be available shortly."