The Real Estate Record

REAL ESTATE RECORD AND BUILDERS' GUIDE, VOL. XXYIII. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1881. No, 720 Published Weekly by The overbuilt, for every new edifice was in eager about by the elevated road system. While demand by would-be tenants. The popula the elevated tracks and the rattle of the REAL ESTATE RECORD ASSOCIATION tion of the city is growing rapidly, and the cars would naturally injury a residence TERMS: coming spring will undoubtedly see a hand street, the experience we bave had settles some advance in rentals. But the surplus the question that the elevated roads add to ONE YEAR, in advaace $6.00 houses left over unsold will serve to check the value of property devoted to business Communications should be addressed to new enterprises in the way of edifices cost and the retail trade. Ce W. SWEET, 13T Broadway. ing from $25,000 to $40,000. Notwithstanding the popularity of the J. T. LINDSEY'Business Manager. The insurance companies, savings banks elevated road system, our street car system and private capitalists are disposed to be holds its own. The price of horse car stocks RETROSPECT. liberal with speculative builders. There is has risen from the increase of business. In looking back over the course of prices no difficulty in getting money, and a good The elevated road figures will soon show forthe past year, there has been nothing deal of it, on houses. Indeed, it is suspected how great has been the increase of travel discouraging to the legitimate dealers in real that the mortgages given by builders repre within the past year. Taken altogether, the estate. There has been no extraordinary sent the cost of the lot and all the expense retrospect for the past year must be a iratis- advance, but property in every part of the of building the house, and the great money f actory one to all real estate dealers who city has been tirmly held, and scarcely any lenders are justified in this liberality, for have exercised sound judgment. losses can be recorded against those who nothing can be surer than mortgages upon bought wisely. It was supposed that the real estate in New York city. WALL STREET, great rise in the stock niarket during the One of the features of this year's real The year closes upon what looks like a fall and winter of 1880 and 1881, would lead estate market was the great sale of Brooklyn reasonably strong stock market, but it is dif to an excited real estate market during the lots near Prospect Park. The prices were so ficult to say whether this is due to manipu spring of the latter •} ear ; but such did not good and the biddings so spirited, that it lation, the covering of shorts or legitimate prove to be the case. At no time during the shows that the completion of the bridge and buying. One of the rumors afloat is that D|j year was there any evidence of a general rapid transit facilities will soon develop an O. Mills, James R. Keene and Henry ViUard speculative movement. Property has been active market on the other side of the East have formed a syndicate to put the market very firmly held in the business and f ai^hion- River. The great popularity of Coney up several points. Keene is said to have able quarters of the city. If there has been Island, Rockaway and Long Beach, will boasted that he followed Gould down when any disappointment, it has been in the lack necessarily direct attention to Brooklyn the latter was a bull, and that he proposed of interest in West Side property, especially and Long Island property. to follow him up, now that the latter is a on the Riverside Drive and the streets ad One of the surprises of the year has been bear. jacent. the great development of the retail traffic in One of the rumors of the week is that W. The past year has been distinguished by a Fourteenth and Twenty-third streets. Four H. Vanderbilt intends to retire from the very great building movement. The Nine teenth street, between Broadway and Sixth management of the various railroads with teenth and Twelfth Wards have increased, avenue, began to drift into the retail trade which his name has been identified in the of course, more largely than any others. soon after the establishment of Macy's, but past. It is further stated that he will be The new building has followed the line of the it is only during the last two years that the succeeded by Cornelius Vanderbilt, his son. backbone of the island, that is, up Lexing full value of that location for a good retail Should this prove true it will at once restore ton, Madison and Fourth avenues. A nota traffic has been realized. The change in confidence in the Vanderbilt roads. Corne ble building movement is that which has Twenty-third street has been no less unex lius is known to be the ablest as well as the sprung ûp on the flat grounds above One pected. When Stern Brothers opened their most prudent of all the living Vanderbilt Hundred and Twenty-fifth street. It is evi fine store two years ago, it seemed like a family. The report is, however, doubtful. dent that the building'activity for the com dangerous experiment, but the subsequent Few men like to give up great power once ing year will be largely in that|direction, history of the street justifies their enter wielded. Should Wm. H. Vanderbilt "throw and that the time cannot be far distant prise. It is undoubtedly the destiny of up the sponge" he would leave the financial when all the low lying ground north of the Booth's Theatre to be converted in a great world under a cloud. The investing public Central Park up to the Harlem River, will store, and when that is accomplished, agree in denouncing his recent career unspar be covered -vîth houses. Twenty-third street will fairly rival Four ingly. They say he has deliberately wrecked One of the special features of the building teenth street. Capitalists who bought Fifth valuable railway properties and has caused of the past year has been the construction of avenue property below Thirty-fourth street, a loss to innocent investors of millions of immense buildings for offices on the lower with a view to its conversion into fine dollars. On the other hand, the merchants part of the island and of great apartments stores, have been disappointed in a measxire, of New York City can have no cause of com and flats on the central zone of the city. for the change has not come there, but has plaint with the recent management of Cen The use of the elevator is changing the arch lagged behind and developed itself in Twenty- tral and its allied roads. Bad as the railway itecture of New York. While less space is third street. It is not impossible that all of war may have been for shareholders, it has being taken up, buildings of greater height Twenty-third street, west of Broadway, may been a good thing for the merchants and the are everywhere in course of erection. This in time be turned into retail stores, and be business of the metropolis. change in our method of house construction to the West Side what Grand street is to the The past year has been one of violent fluc bids fair to make New York in the course of East Side. Every street which leads to a tuations in Wall street, probably the most time the most densely populated city in the ferry is destined to grow in importance extreme known in its history. The promise world, that is to say, it will have the great with the development of the passenger of the coming year is that there will be less est number of inhabitants to the square traffic of the various railway and steamship doing in stocks than during the former three mile. There seems to be no end to the de lines. The growth of the traffic on ferries years, and that the fluctuations will not be mand for suites of rooms. Apartment has its effect upon retail stores, and is a so great. As a matter of fact, active specu houses cannot be erected in sufficient num matter that should be carefully studied by lation is now in general merchandise, manu bers to supply the demand. real estate investors. factured goods, coal and the metals. The It cannot be expected that as many houses Another significant development is the great growth of business is at the manufac wiU be erected next year as this, certainly increase value of all avenue property upon turing centres, while the general trade of the not as many dwelling houses. As a matter which the elevated roads run. Sixth and coim.try was never so active. Unless all the of fact there were rather more erected than Third avenues have both been greatly bene signs fail the next great movement will be could be sold at a profit. The city was not i flted by the concentration of travel brought în. realty. It may not come next year, but 1208 THE REAL ESTATE RECORD December 31,1881 those who can read the future agree in be wires are laid underground. We would vation is in the construction of a higher roof for lieving that two years cannot pass by without not like to do without the electric light for the stage than for the building, so that, in the great speculative activity showing itself in street illumination, but convenient as it event of a fire, the draught wiU be up toward the real property.

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