Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 77, no. 1994: June 2, 1906

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June 2,- 1906 RECORD AND GUIDE T04'I mil. DE^■IEI) 10 fHL Estate,Biiildi|/g %:i(iTECTtn^ .K'^seUold DeeaR^Tiott. Bi/sii^ESS Alto Themes of GEjiERfl Wtei\est . PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS Tablisfied eVerg Saturday CommunlcatlonB sliould ba addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. New York ! ) Telephone, CortlainU 3157 \"Eidered at the Fosl O.Sice at J\Vu> Yorl.-, N. Y. as second-class mailer." Vol. LXXVII. JUNE 2, 1006. INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS. Advertising Section. '! Page. Page. Cement ....................xxiii Law.........................^i Consiilliug Eugiueers ..........x Lumber..................xxviii Clay Products ................xxii Machiuery ...................ly Contractors and Builders ......v Metal Work ................xvii Electrical Interests ..........viii Qui:li; Job Directory ........xxvii Fireprooling ..................iii Real Eslate ................xiii Gi-anite .............xxiv Roofers & Rooflng Materials.xxvi Heating ....................x.-i Stone .....................''xiv iron and Steel ..............xviii Wood Products ............xxix THERE have heen three contributing elements to the growth of land vaKies and of rentals on Manhattan Isl¬ and dining the past eight years. The first and perhaps prin¬ cipal one of these has been the general prosperity which has increased all husiness and reaidenlial requirements, by offering the opportunities.for gratifying the latter and tlie necessity for extending, tbe former. The City of New York, and particularly Manliattan Borough, has during the last few years attracted a large amonnt not only of the conntry'a business but of some of the business of other countries as well. The chief railroads, for instance, having tbeir principal offices in cities served by tbem, have generally moved to New York, Tbe chief manu¬ facturing concerns, wherever tbeir factories may be situated, have tbeir main offices bere. Tbe banking business of tbej United States is practically centered in New York, and there has been a large and important addition to New York's popula-; tion from men of lai-ge wealth from otber cities. The third rea-j sou for tbe increase of land values and rentals in Manhattan bas! been found in tbe larger utilization of tbe land, consequent upon; tbe newer methods of building construction. Where, a few years' ago, perhaps, a building devoted to a single residence would! have a value of twenty-five thousand dollars—twelve thousand five hundred for tbe bouse and twelve thousand flve hundred for the land—tbe same site may now furnish an opportunity for a new building renting on tbe basis of an investment of $100,- 000 or over. As tbe opportunities for the use of a site are en¬ hanced by the increase of tbe number of stories possible upon it, the value of tbe site itself is enhanced aud this has carried up all Manhattan values in arrears available for improvements. No. 19W STOCKS and tbe stock market are acting pretty much as have been indicated recently in tbese columns. Wall Street still drifts and is dull, but obtains an appearance of strength from sporadic advances bere and there. Reading was tbe feature last week and Tennessee Coal and Iron and St. Paul give some evi¬ dence of strength this week. It is altogether too true that there is no public in the market, but, given a sharp advance all along tbe line, a public following may be relied upon. It is all very well to say that commission bouse customers were crippled or cleaned out in what will be known as "the San Francisco panic," but the cripples will stay in the game to recoup themselves, aud those who were cleaned out become touters to secure new blood. The players may die, but the Wall Street game goes ou forever with increasing ratber than lessening intensity. Tbat money will be easy seems now assured. The banks and all lenders bad settled down to the belief that tbe end of May would see bigb rates. Instead of wbicb tbey bave been easy and presage still easier money for Juue, When brokers see a profit in the interest account tbey are apt to urge customers to buy stocks, and cus¬ tomers seeing tbese scattering advances are in a receptive con¬ dition for the tip as to tbe next one marked for movement up¬ ward. CROPS aie being closely watched from Wall Street and reference to tbe situation is seasonable. There are and will always be complaints about tbe weather. The fact is, however, that the weather this season taken as a wbole bas been extremely favorable all over tbe country. There is no rea¬ son yet to expect otber tbau big crops of all the staples, particu¬ larly cotton—our great exchange maker, its export value in tbe past year averaging about one and a quarter million dollars a day. It was only a few years ago when tbe average commercial value of the cotton crop of this country was $300,000,000 a year. Tbat was before tbe utilization of tbe cotton seed. Now cotton and its by-products approximate in value nearly nine hundred millions or three times as much as formerly. No wonder tbe Soutli is growing rich and its feeble single-track roads of a dec¬ ade ago are now being double-tracked and reconstructed to the highest standard of tbe North. Tbe shares of a.l Southern r:iil- ways will be beard from in tbe next great advance and it is bigbly probable tbat profits are to be made in all low-priced railroad issues, as presenting tbe cheapest form of improved real estate. There might possibly be a sectional failure of some of tite cereals, but it has been repeatedly demonstrated tbat in sucb a case larger railroad earnings of tbe agricultural roads freciuently follow. As an illustration, if tbe corn crop in Kansas were a failure bogs would be shipped to Nebraska or Iowa to be fed for tbe market, or corn shipped into Kansas for feeding purposes, both movements constituting business addi¬ tional to" tbe normal traffic for tbe railroads of those States. Tbe'Sifterence between normal and boom business for most r.ajJrbads is" only about ten per cent, consequently anything wbJ|Cli causes them .to earn one or two per cent over and above tb%.t§p.jp.er-eent may be said to give tbem.a boom. TIT tbe question is naturally being asked, is uot tbe max¬ imum commercial value of land in Manhattan being at¬ tained? Though tbe population of tbe borough is increasing, it is by no means increasing at so rapid a ratio as population is iu tbe otiier boroughs. Brooklyn, Tbe Bronx and Queens, in all three of wbicb there is a marked boom in real estate values. Tbe cost of material buildings is bigb; tbe wages of labor are unusually bigb and tbe rate of interest on money is generally higher than a year ago. The concentration of business inter¬ ests in tbe city of New York may for a short time to come be less rapid than it bas been recently, and while tbe steady in¬ crease of the city's bonded indebtedness is undoubtedly'for the city's benefit, in development of the means of transit, tbe beau¬ tiflcation of loealilies, tbe extension of conveniences and tbe improvement of sanitary conditions, tbe chief burden for tbese changes falls, and must continue to fall, upon Manhattan. Two-tbirds of tbe real estate and more tban four-flftbs of tbe personal property assessed for taxation are withiu tbe Borough of Manhattan, and wbi:e, of course, a!I great improvements in¬ ure to tbe benefit of tbe city of New York generally, the tem¬ porary burden of tbeir adoption falls chiefly and heavily upon Manhattan, All these considerations perhaps account for the slackening recently in some quarters at least, of the growth of values, though there are, of course, many sections of the city which have yet to secure their appropriate share in the beneflts of the general improvement. Manhattan property values never go backward, but after active periods of boomed and booming values there has been known to be a cessation of increase, and we may be near one of those periods at present in tbe case of property that has advanced greatly during the last few years. Much, of course, will depend upon tbe genera! financial state of tbe country at large, A continuation of "bumper" crops accompanied by flnancial conservatism will necessarily prolong "good times" and continue the advance of real estate prices. IN OKDER lo develop this great city it daily becomes more ap¬ parent to reil estate owners tbat additional rapid transit must be pushed without delay. Tiie plans for tbe new subways are now before the public and it is gratifying this week to learn from Mayor McClellan's able message that a large amount can be borrowed this year for "special improvements." Thus if the city is called upon to build the projected subways in the event of capitalists refusing to invest their money under the short time operating periods of the Elsberg bill, it is in a position to raise the money needed, Aa far as real estate interests, and tbe welfare and convenience of New Yorkers generally are con¬ cerned, so long as tbe subways are built it is not important whether tbey are constructed by private or public funds. The demand for quick transportation throughout the city and its vicinity has become a question tbat is more urgent than all Qthei'S, It would seem as if tbe present subway had only awakened tbe public to their needs and necessities in tbe way of transit—and had given a Sort of fillip to their .pressing