Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 63, no. 1628: May 27, 1899

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Record and Guide 989 PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS PuMi/hed every Saturday, Telephone, Cobtiamdt 1370. Communications should be addressea to C. W. SWEET, 14-lG Vesey Street. J, 1. L[ND&'ET, Busmess Manager. "Entered at the Post-Oj^ice al Tew York, N. Y., asseaond-ela»8 matter." Vol. LXIII. t MAY 27, 1890. No. 1,028. c The apparent shrinkage In the imports of Great Britain this year Is due to their being stated pecuniarily; quantities are on the whole larger than they were last year. In wheat and flour, for instance, the i^antlties increased 1.7%, while their values Re¬ clined 13.4%. The comparison Is raade with the period when the Leiter boom in wheat was being manipulated. There is no les¬ sening of th? demand, therefore, and with wheat prices advanc¬ ing as they are likely fo do from natural causes this time, the monetary equivalent will grow. It Is somewhat remarkable that the Increased output of gold is accompanied by a demand that absorbs all the supplies and keeps up the standard rates of dis¬ count In the European money centres at comparatively high fig¬ ures. The fact that the Bank of England flnds itself unable to increase its holdings and is In fact less successful than the con¬ tinental banks in this respect, keeps lenders In a cautious mood. At the moment there is little or no need for anxiety, but look¬ ing ahead for a few months there is very little doubt that rates for money wiil be quite high under the heavy agricultural au- OVERING of shorts accounts wholly for the strength In i tumn demand; that is, high as compared with recent experience. prices seen in the last two days. Had stocks been- plentiful enough, of course, the movement would have been the other way, but there was an appreciable lessening of the desire to sell on the part of holders, which did not fail of Influencing the action of speculative shorts. Bond buying has also been resumed with considerable force, the most speculative Issues coming in for much of the public favor in the absence of better ones on which to bestow their affections. It is not unlikely that stocks will follow the lead of bonds now that pressing liquidation seems to have been accomplished, but there is nothing In the situation to warrant the expectation of more than a temporary recovery, or to dispel the belief that the lowest prices of the season have not yet been attained. Money has become easier, the interregnum between two periods of heavy demand having been begun, and the condition of general business continues to he satisfactory. In tbe iron trade demand increases and prices advance. The probabilities for expansion in this line are not to be estimated because it is not known, but only vaguely surmised, how far tho use of iron is spreading in all directions, particularly in struc¬ tural lines. Abroad this fact is being ascertained as a result of experience and is having good effect on iron and coal shares, and here its infiuence must similarly prevail as the results of the growth of the business are shown in distributions to stock¬ holders. LATE advances in the prices of industrial shares In the New York market, phenomenal as they were, are being alto¬ gether outdone in the London mining market, where speculation in West Australians has beeu as rampant as It ever was in Kaflirs. One issue with the suggestive name of Golden Horse¬ shoe, having a par value of fl has sold at £45, against £5 10s. a few months previously. Some two shilling, or flfty-cent shares have sold at £1 10s., or $7.50, and there are a number of others that have also made large advances. London, Paris and Berlin have, too, all been buyers of Kaffirs on continued in¬ creases of output. The returns for the flrst four months of the year are of 1,695,169 ozs., or an increase of 422,336 ozs. on the production of the same period last year. Indeed, foreign mar¬ kets are doing very little in anything besides these issues, though it is not altogether impossible that German industrials will take another upward turn. A halt was called to the specu¬ lation in these issues because of the stringency in the money market, but as that has been removed and the Industrial move¬ ment upon which this speculation was based shows signs of in¬ creasing rather than decreasing in volume, it may be that the situation will call for further increases in quotable values. ; There appears to be no end in sight to the demand for iron for all purposes, or to the willingness of the consumer to stand in¬ creases in prices. Iron manufactures appear to be limited only by the ability of the blast furnace to turn out the pig, for which there is a continually increasing demand. Unprejudiced com¬ ment on the German meat inspection bill is to the effect that it is a measure of protection to the German farmer only, which will if passed inflict great hardships upon the working classes who are the largest consumers of American meats. Pufchases and sales of rentes, through Treasury agents, indicate a very pros¬ perous condition of affairs in France inasmuch as the former are increasing and the latter decreasing. The collection of in¬ direct taxes, affords further evidence of the same fact in tho amount collected being substantially above the estimates. Prices on the Vienna bourse have advanced moderately lately, a movement that haa its Importance chiefly through comparison with the stagnation that has been characteristic of that centre for so long. Government reports of the condition of the crops in Hungary are not satisfactory; wheat is doing fairly well, but Other grains have sulered from unfavorable climatic conditions. INCREASED MORTGAGES AND THEIR CAUSES. LIKE all other current statistics pertaining to the real estate business, those relating to mortgages, show such a re¬ markable increase in the volume of business done that they ex¬ cite interest and deserve special consideration. The value of the mortgages filed In each of the past four years has been consid¬ erably over 5200,000,000, and in our last Issue we showed that this year, up to that time, 7,834 mortgages had been flled, hav¬ ing a face value of ?160,G58,S97, while similar flgures for the same time last year were but 6,797, and $111,618,723, respectively. Four main reasons are given for these increases, namely: First, the Increased borrowing that always accompanies activity In the realty market; second, the shifting of loans to take advantage of lowered interest rates; third, the borrowing of money on real estate to meet the demands for funds in other lines; fourth, the larger advances made on realty as confldence In Its Improved value increases. To these must be added a flfth cause as apply¬ ing to the Increased totals, the borrowings by corporations on bonds secured by mortgages in which plant and franchises are pledged as well as the real estate that may be owned by the Issuing companies. In considering the justice of these deduc¬ tions from the situation It Is necessary to examine the figures themselves and to analyze them, separating the real estate mort¬ gages proper from the corporate mortgages and striking aver¬ ages for the purposes of comparison. This may be done by means of the following table In the presentation of which par¬ ticular attention Is called to the column of satisfaction pieces, which is now published for the first time and which is very nec¬ essary to a proper understanding of the subject we are now dis¬ cussing; Ij \\ ■ ->■.'. !! .] Satisrao^ ------Mortgages on realty.-------, (ion No. Amount. Averaee. pieces. No. Tear. lRt>2............ ]4,44.S imz............ jrt.iaf) lfi.?1(!:74t 2t^,'}^o.7•o3 214.71 TvOfiO ?ns n4.'i!>r> 124,C5S,S9r $12.f>(!0 12,rmO ]l,.-57 14.4?ll 13,?7.X 13.122 15,903 II.RTO lo.oas n.oon 12.^70 n.173 lo<:io 22.7(!ri 6,781 Corporate :—morfjragea.-i No. Apnrra''t. 2 $fi rifio.nno 1 12,5™ noi) 2 fi.rifwnno 1 15,000,000 2fl 500.000 .sn.non.ooo 18,000,000 No one who has followed the course of the realty market for any length of time will refuse to admit that Increased borrow¬ ing accompanies activity there. A lively market depends on a large speculative movement for its existence and as speculation in land means to a very large extent building, borrowing also follows as a matter of course In order that Improvements may be made and the speculative movement carried to Its legitimate conclusion. It is not. therefore, necessary to dwell further upon that point; the weekly records prove quite clearly that of late borrowing for improvements have swelled the totals of mort¬ gages filed to a considerable extent. It is natural to suppose with lowered interest rates that, wherever possible, loans have been shifted to take advantage of them; this view is not only sup¬ ported by natural inference, but also by the more convincing figures, showing the increases In the number of mortgages filed since 1894. when the accummulations of capital first began to force down Interest rates, and the corresponding increase In the number of satisfaction pieces entered for record In the Regis¬ ter's office. It should be stated that the figures last referred to, in¬ clude satisfactions of chattel mortgages; but, as these are prob¬ ably not more than one .per cent of the total and as two per cent would certainly more than cover them, the value of the figures for our purpose is in nowise vitiated by that fact. Without these figures It would not have been possible to so clearly show that the Bhifting of loans had had considerable proportions. As to the drawing upon real estate for means to enlarge the trade and commerce of the community, that Is a point not so easily demonstrated as the others, hut we haye it from the best ■^Pl