W;lhon. Bo"le Co*puny

For

Outdoor display ideas for retail firms are shown in a new l6-page catalog just published by The Pratt Poster Co., 225 N. New Jersey St., Indianapolis 4, Ind. Special displays are shown for grand openings, open houses, anniversaries, holidavs and other occasions.

Kurt Grunwald, who recently succeeded to sole ownership of Western Lumber Company, with new offices at 88 Crestview' Avenue, Daly City (CLM 8/15/58), announces the employment of well-known Northern California Lumberman Brice Stokes (left), pictured here with Grunwald in his new Daly City offices. Stokes, who has spent a lifetime in lumber and who is well acquainted with the California trade as well as the Eastern market, will assist Grunwald in servicing the Northern and Southern California dealer trade.

July Housing Stqrts - I I I,OOO

The preliminary estimate of 111,000 new nonfarm dwelling units started'in July is 13,200 units more than July a year ago and brings the seasonally adjusted annual rate of private starts up to 1,160,000 units. The 645,500 units started the first seven months of this year is 34,100 units more thau the same seven months last year, reports the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association.

The decline of 4,000 units from June was less than usual for the time of vear. and the Tulv 1958 total exceeded the year-earlier figuie by nearly I4/o.'

Privately owned housing starts, which usually decline in July, rose a little this year (by 2,800 units) to a total of 107,300. This represented a gain of I4/o over Jtiy 7957, to the largest private total for any month since May 1955. The increase from June was entirely in housing begun under FHA and VA mortgage insurance programs. Seasonally adjusted, private starts in July were the highest in2l years. When averaged for the first seven months, the annual rate of private starts thus far in 1958 was 1,013,700 units, compared with an average of 970,700 units for the same 1957 period. Preliminary building permit reports indicate that last month's advance in private homebuilding occurred primarily in the North Central and Western States.

At the end of the first seven months of 1958, a total of 645,500 new nonfarm houses and apartments had been put under construction-nearlv 67o more than the 611.400 units started in the comparable 1957 period. This y."r;. private total (605,200 units) was more than 4/o above the figure for the first seven months of 1957. Housing begun with FHA and VA mortgage assistance accounted for about two-thirds of the overall gain in private starts over last year.

Publicly owned housing starts declined between June and July-from 10,500 units to 3,700. The 7-month total of public starts was at a 6-year high of 40,300 units in 1958, compared with the 32,200 reported in the same 1957 months.