April 20, 1979 For Immediate Release: 4 Office of Governor Willie P. Clements, Jr. .Governor Bill Clements has directed his Office of Budget and Planning to monitor closely housing construction starts in Texas during coming months. The Governor stated earlier he would not hesitate to call a special legislative session if a crisis situation in middle-income housing requirements occurs as a result of the national money crunch. He said he would veto any legislation passed this session which would raise the interest ceiling on mortgage loans in the State from 10 to 12 percent. "I plan to keep tabs on housing starts on a monthly basis," Governor Clements said. "I have called on my Office of Budget and Planning to keep me advised as to whether there is any drastic change in construction starts under present interest ceilings. Our studies, in cooperation with the Texas API University Real Estate Research Center, will compare housing starts each month with the number last year and with the national average. This way, we can determine effectively whether there is any marked slowdown as a result of the interest ceiling or other factor." . Governor Clements repeated his pledge to consider proposing legislative action on an emergency basis if the slowdown reaches crisis proportions. The Governor noted that statistics compiled by the AO Real Estate Research Center show the number of single-family housing starts in Texas during January this year increased two percent over January 1978. Apartment house starts declined 18 percent. "If interest rates were permitted to increase, I fear the number of people able to buy homes will decline," Governor Clements said. # # #