ha,rrt EDITORIAL

New Source of Business

A LL TOO OFTEN in the past months we have fa heard the all too real complaint that business is ofi, down, decreasing, or just plain lousy. In most cases the lament {or lost business is a reflection of the sad state of the housing industry.

On a national basis, single family starts are expected to slip four to six percent below last year. And last year's final tally was below what had been anticipated. Treasury Secretary Henry Fowler has been quoted as referring to housing as one o{ the areas in the generally booming U.S. economy that is "sputtering."

Next year, if the forecaster's focus on the crystal ball is good, the housing industry will start to pick up as new federal laws on housing and finance plus more marriages boost the home buying urge.

But for the present, the lumber and building material dealer and wholesaler must face the fact that he has, in effect, lost a major market and hence must look elsewhere for this year's business.

An easy thing to propose, but tough to put into practice, you say? We couldn't agree with you more. But we'll bet that the chances are good that in your town there is just such a market and that you, like many others, have overlooked it. We speak of the new urban renewal market that has been created in the last two years by new laws passed by federal, state and city governments.

This new market has an estimateil potential of ; $50 billion. Yes-billion, and that puts it at twice the size of the present market for housing and hence well worth the efiort. And no less an authority than George V. Stein, National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association first vice president, has stated that "there appears to be little risk involved."

Under the Housing Act of 1965 additional lowcost financing for remodeling, repair and rebuilding of both commercial and residential properties has been added to previous laws. The Housing Act of 1964 (under section 312) provides grants and three percent loans and the act is the vehicle for the dis- tribution oI some $100 million durins the next four years. Both laws will work in sectio'ns defined by the cities involved as urban renewal areas. qOMETHING NEW for wholesalers gets under- *"y in late November, early December. The National-American Wholesale Lumber Association will present a program to seven difierent regional dinner meelings of the Lumber Merchants Association. (See page 57 lor d,etails.)

According to NLBMDA, the way to get on the trail of all the business is: locate the Local Public Agency (LPA) in your town that has jurisdiction over urban renewal. As they take manv forms. i.e.. city departments, separate agencies anh what have you, the easiest way would be to first contact a regional office of the Housing and Home Finance Agency-now a part of the new Department of Housing. For Arizona, California, Nevada, southern ldaho, Utah and Wyoming the office is at 450 Golden Gate Ave., P. O. Box 36003, San Francisco, Calif. 94102. For the rest of the West: 909 First Ave., Seattle, Washington 98104.

When you locate your LPA, get in touch with the executive director and find out from him the rules of the game. He will have the necessary information on your city's plans and projects and will be able to tell you the tactics to get the big ticket sales.

If your market area has no present plan for federally-assisted urban renewal it is not outside the scope of probability that you could be the generating {orce for getting one started. Remember this: the government has got all that money to be given, granted and loaned and if you don't get it someone else will. Get in touch with other businessmen and sketch out a plan and then contact city officials. There is too much at stake to let this one slip by for want oI efiort.

These federally-subsidized rehabilitation plans appear to many to be the key to profits that have been lost this year. We agree and join them in urging you to investigate this new business source.

'W'e shall follow closely, for if successful, this is a project that could be developed on a national basis for the good of the cause. Another example of the continuing trend of cooperation between ihe various segments of the forest products industry.