Deolers Elect Seqttle's Blqckstock Notionql President; Arizono's O'Mdlley Sees Housing Boom Breoking All Records

Chicago, November 20-The rate of improvement in U. S. housing during the next five years will break all records, J. C. O'Malley, president of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association, said here today at the organization's annual meeting at the Conrad Hilton hotel.

"The business of building and moddrnizing homes already is a $22 billion industry and faces a steady future growth, according to a nationwide survey just completed among our members," Mr. O'Malley said.

"IJnless mortgage funds again become scarce, 1,250,000 new homes should be started in 1959, and the home improvement business, sparked by widespread kitchen modernization, will rise above the $8 billion level reached in 1958.

"Much of the credit for the healthy state of our housing supply belongs to the Federal Housing Administration, which helped the industry lead the nation out of the recession. FHA gave home modernization an effective boost by cracking down on the suede shoe operators, and expansion of its Title I repair and modernization program enabled many home owners to undertake sizeable home improvement jobs with the aid of easy monthly payments.

"In new home building, in addition to offering lower down payments and liberalized terms which make it easier to acquire a home, FHA has modernized and standardized its Minimum Property Requirements and has begun to recognize quality construction in its appraisals. Meritorious new materials have been approved for use in FHAinsured homes at a faster rate than ever before.

"An especially far-seeing move that removes red-tape and makes home building easier in both small and large communities is the Certified Agency Program, whereby qualifiecl local people in the industry are authorized to process applications for FHA insurance and to make the necessary appraisals and inspections. This means loans can be approved in days instead of weeks and months as so often is the case when approvals must be obtained through FHA's understaffed regional ofifrces.

"These improvements mean much to the retail lumber industry which already builds or helps to build more than l-ralf of our new homes and is expanding its home modernization function steadily," the dealer president concluded.

Herbert W. Blackstock of Seattle, Wash., was elected president of the National Retail Lumber Dealers Association for 1959 at the annual meeting of the organization and which was featured by reports of improving business conditions, more plentiful mortgage funds, and emphasis on the need for more aggressive merchandising.

Paul V. DeVille of Canton, Ohio, was elected first vicepresident; Leslie G. Everitt of Colorado Springs, Colo., was made second vice-president. and W. B. Oldham of Dallas.

Texas, was elected treasurer. H. R. Northrup, executive vice-president, and E. H. Libbey, secretary, both were reelected. Mr. Everitt, who recently retired from the LongBell Retail Division of the International Paper Co., now is associated with his sons in the Everitt Lumber Co.

J. C. O'Malley of Phoenix, Ariz., the NRLDA's 1958 president, said that after traveling extensively around .the country during the last year he was convinced that the time had come for the building industry to turn its emphasis away from production and to concentrate on better merchandising, marketing, selling and promotion. Expressing the wish that the new promotional program of the National Lumber Manufacturers Association had been started a dozen vears earlier. he predicted that the retail lumber industry would get solidly behind the effort to promote wood and wood oroducts.

Ht]W LUMBER Lt]t]KS

Lumber trading the end of November slowed to a snail's pace' according to Crow's Lumber Market News Service ; partially due to severe early storms in parts of the nation, although buying activity normally moves at a reduced pace in November. Dealers in many states where there is an inventory tax do not want too much lumber on hand ,before the end of the year, but are showing a little interest now in shipments to arrive after Jan. 1. Mills, on the other hand, are not eager to accept this delayed-shipment business except at increased prices.

Reports of production, shirpments and orders were all below normal in the Thanksgiving week as November ended, in the figures released by the National Lumber Manufacturers Assn., the West Coast Lumbermen's Assn., and the Western Pine Association.

One of the few bright spots in the current Market picture was that given by the California Redwood Association, which reported that Northern California redwood mills during October were the busiest they'd been since the Spring of 1957. Unfilled order files at October's "nd garr. indication that mills will stay busy, with orders of 60,532'000 feet on hand, compared to 39,833,000 feet on the same 1957 date. Unfilled orders were about 2O/o higher than actual shipments during October. The 14 mills reporting to the CRA counted their lowesJ inventories in more than two years, with stocks 4 million feet rbelow September, and more than 35 million feet below last October. Shipments of 50,459,000 b.f. during the month were 4 million above September and a 2l/o gain over last October, and wete g:reater than production for the eighth consecutive month. October orders totaled 48,849,000 b.f., while redwood production at the 14 reporting mills totaled 48.927,0W b.I.

Emerson Joins Volley Lumber

Palm Springs, Calif.-Arthur Emerson of Palm Springs, former owner of the Emerson hotel, is the new sales associate at Valley Lumber, Palm Desert.