Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXVIII.





NEW YORK, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3. 1881.





No. 70





Published Weekly by The

Real Estate Record Association

TERMS:
O^E TEAR, in advance  ......  $6.00

Communications should be addressed to

C. W. SAYEET, 13T Broadway.

J. T. LINDSEY, Business Manager.





THE SITUATION.
Are we likely to have a strong market for
real estate this fall? This is the question
now agitating the minds of real estate
dealers and investors. Business is generally
very good. In all branches of trade mer¬
chants are making profits and workmen are
receiving better wages than since the inflated
times of '70 and '71. New York is filling np
with people, and, so far, the new houses
built have commanded a ready sale. The
buying through the summt-r has been 'con¬
fident, and there is a well-grounded belief
that some time during this fall there will bi
a siiong, if not an excited, real estate mar¬
ket.

But how will the stock market affect real
estate? The various factors which advance
the price of railway securities also have their
influence upon real estate. If WaU street
should take a gloomy view of things, we
could not expect a very active real estate
speculation. It is quite certain that last
spring there was a very excited stock mar¬
ket and a rather quiet real estate market.
But according to the experience of the past,
it is after a great stock speculation culmin¬
ates that prices of realty show a decided ad¬
vance. All legitimate businesses are
profitable just now. The country never had
so much money; but stock speculation is no
longer attracti%-e, and the chances now are
that the surplus money will overflow into
otiier channels than that made by the Stock
Exchange.

A week ago it looked for a time as if there
might be a renewal of the bull movement in
stocks. The probable death of the Presi¬
dent had been fully discounted; so had the
partial failure of the cr.»ps. Gold was com¬
ing from Europe, our exports were increas¬
ing, and then it was natural to expect a
reaction after a long period of depression.
So on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday stocks
went up at a pretty rapid pace; but the
stiffening of the rates for money began to
excite apprehension, and on Wednesday
morning stocks sold off again. Yet, if we
are to import gold from Europe, the price of
money must advance at this side of the
Atlantic. No gold would find its way here
if the price of money is only three per
cent.

There are still several things which may
operate in favor of the market. The gene¬
ral business activity of the country is swel¬
ling railway receipts, which, in some
instances, makes up for the crop deficiencies.
Europe must have our breadstuffs, no mat¬
er what their price, and then there are





powerful monetaiy influences which have
new enterprises on foot that will help to
sustain the market. The outlook would
seem to be, therefore, in favor of a broker's
market; no very great rise and no very
marked depression, and this ought to help
the real estate market. If the surplus
money of the country cannot be used in
stock speculation, it will seek more perma¬
nent investment, and hence the probability of
heavy purcbaseo of real estate by persons
who, if the stock market was active and ad¬
vancing, would be dealing in railway
securities.





A SPLENDID SCHEME.

President Corbin, of the Long Island road,
has made public the details of a magnificent
scheme for populating and enriching Long
Island. He has organized The Land, Mort¬
gage, Investment & Agency Company in
England, with a capital of £1,000,000, divided
into 100,000 shares of £10 each. Among the
directors are the names of noblemen and
leading English bankers. It is propo.sed to
build splendid summer hotels and cottages
on the eligible sites on the north and south
shore of Long Island, and to give such in¬
ducements to immigrants that all the vacant
lands in the centre of the island will be cut
up into farms for market gardening pur-
po.ses. Of course, the key to the situation,
will be the stock of the Long Island Rail¬
road.

While wishing every success to Mr. Corbin
in his endeavor to get English capital to
improve Long Island, conservative real
estate owners will be disposed to criticise the
scheme. Long Island is beautiful and
healthful, and contains many picturesque
sites for hotels and villages. But is not the
summer hotel business being overdone? At
the rate at which they are now building on
the sea-coast, it will require about half the
population of the United States to keep
them full during the summer time. Tiien,
as to the market gardening part of the
schemes, is it not true that since steam ves¬
sels have been in use, growers of early
vegetables along the South Atlantic coast
have had the advantage of tne Long Isljind
tarmers ? The high priced early fruit and
garden stuff is monopolized by the Southern
growers. President Corbin has veiy much
improved the Long Island road, and the
stock has advanced from 16 to 48. The road
will soon be taken out of the hands of the
receiver. Nothing can prevent the growth
of Long Island, and the increase in the price
of its realty, and this addition of English
capital wiU be an excellent thing in itself,
even if the investors are disappointed at the
difference between the promises and the
performances of the new company.





Judged by the exchanges^ the United
States was never so prosperous. The ex¬
changes in New York for August, 1880, were
$3,399,761,848; for August, 1881, $3,555,804,-
054,.an increase of 48.3 per cent. Making
allowance for the stock dealings there is a





gain of fully 57 per cent, over the August of
last year in this city alone. This shows that
the rate cutting was stimulating the busi¬
ness of our city; but there is every reason to
believe that the trade of tlit» metropolis will
continue exceptionally good for the rest of
the season. Nor is New York alone in this
business activity. During the j last week the
increase in New Orleans is 91 per cent., in
Milwaukee 83 per cent., in Kansas City 73
per cent., in Louisville 63 per cent., and in
Boston and Memphis over 50 per cent. These
differences are somewhat accounted for by
the increased price of commodities dealt in,
forthe cheap era has passed away. Hereaf¬
ter labor, land and all commodities w ill be
dearer. Railway securities were swollen in
price at the expense of every other interest in
the country during the past three years; but
now the time has come when the price of
stocks is decreasing, and of everything else
increasing.

INCREASED COST OF LIVING IN NEW
YORK.
Living in New Y<»rk is again becoming
costly. Rents have advanced, and there is
no reasonable pr'ispect of lower figures for
f^everal years to come in desirable locations.
There is every reason to believe that money
invested iu improved property will command
a better return during the next ten than it
lias during the past ten years. Then^ New
York is a more desirable city to live in than
it was. Its public grounds and drives are
unsurpassed. Its theatres and places of
amusement are calculated to suit every taste,
and soon it will have an opera house as fine
as any in the world. The New York market
is better supplied, and contains a greater
variety of choice food than any city of mod*
em times. No market in Europe has such a
variety of fruit, and as for choice game, our
caterers have at their disposal birds and ani"
mals from the equator to the Arctic circle.
We are far behind the capitals of Europe in
pictures and statuary, but treasures of that
kind are constantly accumulating in our
public and private galleries.

But what we started out to say was that
living in New York is growing more costly.
Labor of all kinds is higher-priced; domestic
service has to be better paid. Then, owing
to the short crops and the prevailing drought,
food and vegetables of all kinds have ad¬
vanced in price. Peaches, usually so abun¬
dant at this time of the year, are scjirce and
dear. The apple crop is deficient, but peais
are in rather better supply than usual.
There will be a general advance in prices
this fall. Boarders in hotels and private
houses, as well as lodgers, may take it for
granted that they will be asked to pay
more, or be contented with less. It is not
impossible but that this inevitable increase
in the cost of livitig may force people with
fixed incomes over to Brooklyn or to the
other suburbs of New York.    We "can spare

I them, for the addition to our population ii
constant and shows no signs of abatement.

k Notwithstanding the increased cost of lit-