The above table shows total fire loss in four years of approximately 1.2 billion dollars. According to the National Board of Fire Underwriters 25 per cent should be added to their figures to cover losses not reported to its actuarial bureau. Making this allowance the total loss by fire in the last four years may be estimated at 1.5 billion dollars.
An ordinary allowance for the depreciation of buildings is 2 per cent per annum. On a total valuation of 68.5 billion dollars for such property in the United States the annual depreciation would be 1.37 billion dollars; for four years a total of 5.48 billion dollars. It is probable that depreciation during the last four years has been greater than that, for it is well known that repairs and renewals have been seriously neglected.
Anyhow it is evident that a total loss by fire, by deterioration and by obsolescence since 1916 is reasonably estimated at 6.98 billion dollars, while new construction has amounted to only 3.6 billion dollars, showing an impairment of our real estate plant to the extent of 3.38 billion dollars. If the taxed real estate other than farms was worth 82.3 billion dollars in 1916 its value in 1920 was only 78.92 billion dollars. This does not, of course, take cognizance of “writing up” of values on the basis of transactions that in themselves reflect the scarcity of houses. If houses should become more scarce their market value would go even higher, but it is obvious that no such figuring would add anything to the wealth of the country. The actual condition would be just the reverse.
Real Estate Tax Exempt
Summarizing the previous estimates for land and buildings, agricultural and urban, we have the following:
