EDilTORIAI

Act, Don't React

f, S this year nears its close, we find we can't F share a lot of the pessimism that is going around. Conditions just don't seem bad enough, especially in the West, to warrant the long faces. We agree with the school of thought that sees a moderate decline in housing starts, offset,by increased commercial and industrial construction and, especially, continued growth in the do-it-yourself field.

The reason for our optimism can be summed up in one word: demand. It's out there and it's out there in spades. Virtually every study we see and most every source contacted confirms it. The postwar baby boom is at home buying age and, despite numerous and very real obstacles, is purchasing homes at an amazing clip.

Even the college professors who study housing trends seem wowed by its force. Dwight M. Jaffee, a Princeton professor of economics notes, "The demographic factors are the most positive they've been in a long time. the 1980s are going to be glorious.'Pretty encouraging talk to come from an economist; a group not known for happy talk.

To those who worry about the high cost of money, and see a parallel with the decline in

1974-75 that followed soaring interest rates, we offer this hope: a majority of economists say- money market conditions are very different today and that the factors that causeil the problem before have been substantially altered. The Credit Crunch of '74 shouldn't get a re-play,they reason,because ofsteps taken since then to assure the constant supply of money the housing industry needs to sustain it. It may be costly, but it's avaitable. Additionally, there isn't the overbuilding now there was in 1974.

If you add the momentum existing plus the positive factors inherent in the Sun belt and the West generally, this next year would seem a time to aggressively pursue the business that exists. This is not the time to wait for market forces, whether good or bad, to come down upon your head.

Act now to prepare yourself to land in 1979 on your feet and running. If you don't act now, you'll have to react later, to get your share of whatever remains. The left-overs for those who fail to prepare for the future.

Have an excellent holiday season. We'll see you in '79.

Serving the Pacific Southwest for 13 Years