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Washington, D. C.-"Home Building may be the bellwether industry that leads us out of the current business recession," President Nels G. Severin, San Diego, Calif. builder and head of the National Assn. of llome Builders, said optimistically May 12. He declared his belief is based on widespread industry reports of a healthy spurt in building.

Sirnilar reports were bulwarked on the administration's request for authority to insure $4 billion more in home loans under the Federal Housing Administration program. HHFAdministrator Albert M. Cole said there has been such a substantial gain in loan applications that FHA's present loan authority may be used up by June 10.

The Senate Banking subcommittee was accordingly asked to boost from $3 billion to $Z billion the amount of insurance the FHA could issue between now and June 30,. 1959, and Cole asked for immediate action. Speed 'was assured by Chairman Sparkman (D., Ala.) of the subcommittee, who said he and Senator Capehart (R., Ind.) would sponsor the resolution.

THOR RIED TW&J on mqnufqctured

Severin gave much credit for the housing gains to this Spring's $1,850,000,000 housing law. which made new funds available for mortgages, lowered down payments on some g'overnment-insured mortgages, and extended the VA home-loan program another trvo years.

I'he NAHB president said this law should boost new home starts by 100,000 to start more than a million this year (there were only 991,000 in 1957). Severin said the easing of mortgage credit had swift 'bene- fits and that out of the three-fifths of the nation's builders who have revised their plans this year, 80/o decided to do more building. "Looking ahead, the optimism is even more pronounced," he said, "65/o say the over-all market will be better six months from now."

Pointing up home building's effect on the recession, Severin said 100,000 new home starts would provide 250,000-300,000 more jobs directly. Spreading out, he said, would be benefits to suppliers of lumber, steel, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, electrical goods, cement, paint, tile, etc.