Real  Estate   Record





AND BUILDERS' GUIDE.





Vol. XXVIII.





NEW YORK, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER Id, 1881.





No. 714





Published Weekly by The

Real Estate Record Association

TERMS:
OHfE YEAR, In advance.....$6.00

Communications should he addressed to

C. W. SWEET, 131 Broadway.

J. T. LINDSEY, Busmess Manager.

NEW AND OLD NEW YORK,
The figures given by Mr. Samuel Cohen of
some of his former purchases and sales of
vacant lots in New York City, show how
rapidly property advanced in New York in
the olden times, before the street cars were
established, or the elevated steam roads
were thought of. But Mr. Cohen makes
the mistake, which elderly gentlemen in
any specialty are apt to do, in thinking that
the chance for making money in the pur¬
chase of realty to-day is not as good as when
he was in his prime. The fact is, there is
twenty times the chance to-day of making
money in real estate than thei'e was between
1850 and 1860. New York progresses as
much in one year now as it did in five a
decade since. There is an abundance of
property to be purchased in the Twelfth,
Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth wards,
which before the close of the century will
increase ten and twenty-fold in value.

It is, however, true that the steam roads
have destroyed the old monopoly in choice
residence lots. By making larger "populated
areas tributary, the elevated roads and steam
roads have vastly enhanced the value of the
business portions of New York, but fancy
house property cannot bring the same mar¬
ket price as it did before the construction of
the elevated roads. This is because there is
greater liberty of choice in the selection of
eligible ground suitable for fine dwellings.

But still the fact remains, that, in no spot
on earth is there so good a chance for an in¬
vestment in unimproved property, as within
the limits of New York City. Our popula¬
tion is growing rapidly and can only spread
northward. The advancing tide of houses-
in the Nineteenth and Twelfth wards knows
no retiring ebb, and wherever there is com¬
petition for ground there is sure to be a
rapid enhancement in values. The great¬
ness of New York is only just beginning,
and the purchaser at present prices will
realize a larger advance than any which
took place twenty-five and thirty years ago.





The old Walton House in Pearl street, near
the Franklin square elevated station, is now
being torn down to give place to a factory
for making belting. This house was built
in-1754, and if any of our modern New York
builders would look at the work of those
days and compare it with his own, they
would feel ashamed of themselves. The
Walton House used to be the finest mansion
in the city, if not in the country. All the
material came from abroad, including bricks,
tiles, mantle-pieces and interior adornments.
The house  to-day, as  far as foundations





walls, beams, &c., are concerned, is as good
as when first erected. There was no slack
work in those days.





THE BUILDING TRADE.
Below is a recapitulation of the tables that
we have published from week to week show¬
ing the number of houses and flats erected
for the present season, together with the
location, name of builders and numbers of
houses sold. There have been some few
sales of completed, buildings since these
tables were compiled and where it was not
possible to obtain information as to whether
a house was sold or not it has been computed
as not sold. It must be remembered that
the major part of the new buildings are now
nearing completion or have just had the
finising touches put upon them, which fact
in some measure accounts for the small
number of houses sold. It should also be
remembered that a number of these build¬
ings have been erected as an investment and
are consequently not in the market. This
table shows that houses erected on the West
Side have sold proportionally faster than
those erected on the east side.

EAST OP 5th AVENUE AND NORTH OF 43d STREET.

Built.                          Sold.                    Unsold.

1,150                           137                         1,013

WEST OF 5th avenue AND NORTH OF 59TH"sTREET.

Built.                          Sold.                    Unsold.

303                             43                            S60

It seems that there are twelve hundred
and seventy-three new unsold houses east,
west and north of the Central Park. This,
in addition to the new and old houses below
the park in the market, ought to give buyers
an advantage until the demand develops
next spring. It is notable that it is the very
valuable houses which have had the most
ready sale. The cheap houses have not
been in demand, but all vacant houses can
be readily rented.





The stock market seems to be in an unde¬
cided condition. Towards the close of the
year the tone of the street is apt to be bearish,
due to a variety of causes, the locking up of
money in payment of taxeSj the settling up
of bills and holiday purchases. A decided
rise is not expected till between the 10th of
January and the end of February. The
street is full of points to buy this and that
stock, and the probability is that, those who
do buy now, and hold their stocks till the
1st of March, will see better prices. The
railway war must come to an end before a
a great while, the government will be forced
to disburse some of the surplus funds on
hand, and the national banks are steadily
increasing the circulation. The vast combi¬
nations made by the railway magnates of
course affect values, and there are powerful
influences at work to advance the market.
Still the fact remains that some accident
always intervenes to check an advance,
when it looks as if one has been established.





The manipulation in the elevated stocks

still continues.   Gould, Sage and Field are

very anxious that the stockholders in the

k Metropolitan should endorse some scheme





which [deprives them of the; guarantee of
10 per cent. Field, who a short time since
declared vociferously that the Manhattan
was worthless, now offers to bet tliat it will
sell for 75 within a year. Undoubtedly the
triumverate have some plan by which they
expect to enhance very greatly the value of
that one of the elevated stocks in which they
are the most interested.





Although the number of transactions in
the way of conveyances and mortgages has
been larger in other weeks this fall than dur¬
ing the past week, yet, as will be seen, the
amount of money involved in both purchases
and mortgages is much the largest of this
season so far. But the mortgage list of the
past week is swollen by one very large trans¬
action, a $3,000,000 mortgage having been
given by the American Heating and Power
Company. A mortgage on the St. J.imes
Hotel for $475,000 is to'be noted, also amort-
gage of $335,000 on some Fifth Ward prop¬
erty, west of Hudson street, to a Boston cap¬
italist. But these transactions will seem
small when the great real estate speculation
sets in, which it must do before the present
general enhancement in values is over.

Week   N.Y.    Am't.   No.      No. 2.3d     Am't.      No.

end    City        in-     Nom-    & 24th         in-      nom-

ing.  Cons,   volved    inal    Wards,     volved.     inal.

Sept.                     $                                      $

14        75       809,074     25           12           21,450      ....

21      111     1,381,992     36           16           4.5,928          6

28        89     1,355,333     21           19           90,593         4

Oct.

5        157      3.200,444      34             15             15,400            8

12        157      2,007,448      39             21             38.289            3

19        159      1,696,607      52             18             64,000            6

2i>        146       1,720,325      44              21            213,871            6

Nov.

2      192     3,103,469     44           20           25,725          4

9      151     2,952,416     37           14           71,300          1

16      185     3,078,525     45           35           S.6,953          7





Week Mort-
end-   gag¬
ing,     es.
Sept.
14
21
28
Oct.





12

19

26

Nov.

2

9

16





108
149
117

169
152

174
298

241
204
196





Am't.      No.

in-     Five
volved. perct.
%

79S,153     13

1,159,231     29

1,076,874    29

1,310,982     35

1,531,856     28

1,486,930     36

1,741,258     35

1,866,805     53

2,331,630    42

5,413,650     36





Am't.     No. to    Am't
in-        T. &        in¬
volved. Ins Cos.  volv&i.

224,700      17       227,900

235,681      28        464.450

469,100      27        562,500

a34,900      31        378,700

385.611      29        549,175

334,038      30        480,250

377,632      51        687,000

466,500      41        375,000

787,250       85        ari.Syill
595,200      39     3,748,300





For the putting out of fires it is urged
that salt water should be used. It is com¬
puted that $10,000,000 would be amply
sufficient to build the necessary apparatus
to throw a stream that would reach the
top of the tallest buildings. This water
might be used for sprinkling the streets and
cleaning the gutters, as well as flushing the
sewers. Our store of Croton water could
then be reserved for domestic and manu¬
facturing purposes. Salt water is preferable
to fresh for street sprinkling and cleansing
purposes and does not damage goods so
much at a fire. By all means let us have
plenty of salt as well as fresh water.





No unusual features have been brought to light
on the various markets for building material dur¬
ing the past week. Some fluctuation on v.ilues has
taken place, but only through the influence of
ordinary and natural causes, and iu the end sell¬
ers as a rule retain the advantage. A large pro¬
portion of the current movement is for actual
consumption, as there is a natural desire to get