Re.al Estate Record
AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.
Vol. XXIX.
NEW TOKK, SATUEDAY, MARCH 4, 1882.
No. 729
Published Weekly by The
Real Estate Record Association
TERMS:
ONE TEAR, in advance.....$6.00
Communications should be addressed to
e. W. SWEET, 13T Broadway
J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager.
- The pressure on our columns is very great this week,
and there is every indication of a very active market
for the next three months, but large as is to-day's
paper, we probably will be forced to issue as large, if
not a larger one, frequently during the coming season.
Regular subscribers of The Real Estate Record,
who keep it on file at their ofQces, complain that they
are besieged by non-bubscribers who consult the paper
frequently. There might be some excuse for this
practice when The Record charged $10 a year; but
now that it can be procured for $6 a year, and the
times are good, there is no excuse for not subscribing
by those to whom it is indispensable. 4.s any one can
see, there is a great deal of work on this paper, and
it is a very costly one to publish. The real estate in¬
terest, itself, has very little patronage to give to a
trade paper. It is from other interests that profits
are made on its pubhcation. Subscribers wha keep
files, should, in justice to us, discourage- the perusal
of this publication by dealers and others who must
see it, but want to avoid paying for it.
--------*-*-*--------
WHAT THE MONTHS SHOW.
The following table tells its own story.
On looking over the figures, the investor
can see at a glance the real estate operations
of the past six months. It will be noticed
that the month of February shows more
transactions in the way of conveyances and
mortgages than any of the previous five
months. The activity in the Twenty-third
and Twenty - fourth Wards is especially
noticeable. From these figures it is fair to
assume that the month of March will show
far heavier transactions than February,
while it is a safe prediction to make that the
transactions which will be recorded in April
will exceed in number and amount those of
any month since 1873. These figures are
misleading only in one way; the deeds re¬
corded in February show the transactions of
January, as it takes nearly a month between
the sale and its record in the Register's
office.
23d &
Am't. Nom. 24th W. Am't. nom.
t,937.7_44 103 59 $218,061 12
1881. Cons.
Sept. 389
Oct. 619
Nov. 876
Dec. 719
1882.
Jan. 785
Feb. . 904
8.624,824 169
18,464,964 225
14,459.915 226
75 "331.560 23
103 353,565 19
72 190,010 10
13,970,643 190 103 260,735 22
11,776,640 273 91 317|386 31
T. &
1881. Morts. A'mt. .5 p c Am't. I. Co. Am't
Sept. 497 $4,329,012 96 $1,261,881 89 $1,848,250
Oct. 793 6,071,026 134 1,332,181 141 2,095,125
Nov. 954 12,315,113 208 2,556,695 166 5,303.073
Dec. 856 10,177,582 153 1,931,891 183 3112.304
1882. '
Jan. 857 7,998,851 188 2,217,187 176 2,555,550
Feb. 942 3,660,902 269 3,295,518 173 2,655,000
-----«-----
The spring husiness in reality opens auspi¬
ciously. As will be seen by the list of con¬
veyances and mortgages given elsewhere,
the number of transactions has suddenly and
largely increased. The Exchange rooms on
a good salesday are now thronged as they
have not been before in years. The bidding
is spirited, and all business property com¬
mands splendid prices. Eeally well-located
residences are never sold at a sacrifice on the
Exchange. It is remarkable that while
stocks, bonds, grain, cotton, and provisions
are all depressed and large dealers are losing
money, real estate alone is buoyant and
seems to have a f utuve. There has been no
boom in real estate, and therefore there is
no reaction to be feared.
THE PROSPECT.
There is no hope for the bulls in the stock
market until one of three things occurs.
First, some legislation by Congress that
would inflate the currency or make money
abnormally easy; second, an agreement by
the Paris Monetary Conference in April, to es¬
tablish bi-metalism throughout the civilized
world; third, a magnificent crop. As for
Congressional action, there does not seem
any present prospect that any financial legis¬
lation can be devised that will help the
market, and if it should, it would be prompt¬
ly opposed by the present Secretary of the
Treasury and would be vetoed by President
Arthur. The administration now in power
represents the Eastern money lending and
not the Western money borrowing interests;
so Congress cannot be depended upon to help
in a bull campaign. Should bi-metalism be
established, that of course would mean the
addition of all the silver in the world to all
the gold, as a basis for commercial transac¬
tions ; this would inevitably result in an ad¬
vance in prices in every commodity made or
used by man. But then, should the mone¬
tary conference come to this agreement, it
would have to be endorsed by the nations
who sent representatives to it, and this would
be a work of time, so the bulls can get but
little immediate comfort from that source.
Everything would seem to depend upon the
third factor in the case, to wit, a magnificent
crop, which would give us an unusually
large surplus to send abroad. Should that
blessing be vouchsafed us, then would next
fall see the greatest speculative excitement
the United States has known since the paper
money era. Should the weather be propitious
from this time forth, there will be planted
the greatest acreage for every kind of crop
since the beginning of the government. The
high prices and the deficient crop of last
year will be incentives to the growth of very
large crops next summer and fall. The new
railways west of the Mississippi and the
large immigration have opened up immense
areas of agricultural country and if the
weather does not go against us, our trans¬
portation lines will have a business that will
tax their capacity to the utmost. In that
case we will see the revival of the specula¬
tion of the last three years, but in vastly
greater proportions.
Affairs abroad are somewhat mixed. A
great European war is among the possibili¬
ties of the future. Should an outbreak
occur, it would probably see France and
Russia arrayed against Germany and Aus¬
tria. This would necessarily involve other
nations again and Europe \irould become a
vast battle-field. The first effects of such a
war would be to depress our industries.
Gold would be shipped to Europe in large
quantities and there might be a panic in our
stock market; but ultimately we would
profit by the misfortunes of our neighbors
over the water. We would sell immense
quantities of breadstuffs and provisions to
the combatants, and our workshops would
be employed in supplying war material.
Then, our trade would profit.
As for New York, the outlook is fair
enough. While Congress will do nothing to
help the bulls in stocks, there is every dis¬
position to foster the commerce of the coun¬
try. Something will be done to subsidize
American steamship lines, which of course
will help New York. The new navy to be
constructed cannot but benefit this city A
war in Europe would increase the com¬
mercial importance of .this port. Then,
should we have a great crop this fall, the
boom in New York realty cannot be much
longer delayed.
PROPOSED NEW BUILDINGS.
The annexed table shows the building
plans filed at the Department of Buildings
for January and February during the last
two years. It will be noticed there are more
buildings this year than last year, and that
the amount of money it is proposed to spend
will be larger. It will be noticed that there
has been a decrease in the number of
projected buildings east of the Central Park,
l)ut an increase in the region between Four¬
teenth and Fifty-ninth streets:
comparative table op new buildings.
1881. 1882.
Number plans filed January ............... 54
February .................. 60
buildings projected January...........146
February.......... 135
- - - 20
17
" " " south 14th St., Jan,
Feb.
" " '• bet Wth & 59th sts.,
Jan. 12
'• " " " Feb. 19
bet 59th &lS5th sts.,
w Sth av., Jan. 1
Feb. 9
" " " bet 59th & 125th sts.,
e Sthav., Jan. 104
" " " " Feb. 63
" " " bet 110th & 125th sts,
Sth & Sth avs. Jan. 1
Feb. 0
" " " in23d&24thWrds,
Jan. 1
" Feb. 19
1881.
Estimated cost, January......... $3,006,000
" " February........ 1,559,266
67
97
127
168
11
31
33
40
10
27
1883.
$1,747,886
2,305,250
Work on the new Grand Opera House and
Goelet's Hotel on the comer of Thirty-second
street and Broadway is shortly to be stopped,
owing to the high price of material and the
demands of the laborers. It seems the stone¬
cutters, who work barely nine hours a day,
intend to demand $4.50 a day after the Ist
of April. As soon as the foundations of the
Opera House are laid work will stop, and
will not be resumed until such time as
material decreases in price and the demands
of the stonecutters and laborers are not so
L exorbitant. As regards the Opera House, it