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Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 28, no. 720: December 31, 1881

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Real Estate Record AND BUILDERS' GUIDE, Vol. XXYIII. NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1881. No, 720 Published Weekly by The Real Estate Record Association TERMS: ONE YEAR, in advaace.....$6.00 Communications should be addressed to Ce W. SWEET, 13T Broadway. J. T. LINDSEY'Business Manager. RETROSPECT. In looking back over the course of prices forthe past year, there has been nothing discouraging to the legitimate dealers in real estate. There has been no extraordinary advance, but property in every part of the city has been tirmly held, and scarcely any losses can be recorded against those who bought wisely. It was supposed that the great rise in the stock niarket during the fall and winter of 1880 and 1881, would lead to an excited real estate market during the spring of the latter ■} ear ; but such did not prove to be the case. At no time during the year was there any evidence of a general speculative movement. Property has been very firmly held in the business and f ai^hion- able quarters of the city. If there has been any disappointment, it has been in the lack of interest in West Side property, especially on the Riverside Drive and the streets ad¬ jacent. The past year has been distinguished by a very great building movement. The Nine¬ teenth and Twelfth Wards have increased, of course, more largely than any others. The new building has followed the line of the backbone of the island, that is, up Lexing¬ ton, Madison and Fourth avenues. A nota¬ ble building movement is that which has sprung ^up on the flat grounds above One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street. It is evi¬ dent that the building'activity for the com¬ ing year will be largely in that|direction, and that the time cannot be far distant when all the low lying ground north of the Central Park up to the Harlem River, will be covered -v^ith houses. One of the special features of the building of the past year has been the construction of immense buildings for offices on the lower part of the island and of great apartments and flats on the central zone of the city. The use of the elevator is changing the arch¬ itecture of New York. While less space is being taken up, buildings of greater height are everywhere in course of erection. This change in our method of house construction bids fair to make New York in the course of time the most densely populated city in the world, that is to say, it will have the great¬ est number of inhabitants to the square mile. There seems to be no end to the de¬ mand for suites of rooms. Apartment houses cannot be erected in sufficient num¬ bers to supply the demand. It cannot be expected that as many houses wiU be erected next year as this, certainly not as many dwelling houses. As a matter of fact there were rather more erected than overbuilt, for every new edifice was in eager demand by would-be tenants. The popula¬ tion of the city is growing rapidly, and the coming spring will undoubtedly see a hand¬ some advance in rentals. But the surplus houses left over unsold will serve to check new enterprises in the way of edifices cost¬ ing from $25,000 to $40,000. The insurance companies, savings banks and private capitalists are disposed to be liberal with speculative builders. There is no difficulty in getting money, and a good deal of it, on houses. Indeed, it is suspected that the mortgages given by builders repre¬ sent the cost of the lot and all the expense of building the house, and the great money lenders are justified in this liberality, for nothing can be surer than mortgages upon real estate in New York city. One of the features of this year's real estate market was the great sale of Brooklyn lots near Prospect Park. The prices were so good and the biddings so spirited, that it shows that the completion of the bridge and rapid transit facilities will soon develop an active market on the other side of the East River. The great popularity of Coney Island, Rockaway and Long Beach, will necessarily direct attention to Brooklyn and Long Island property. One of the surprises of the year has been the great development of the retail traffic in Fourteenth and Twenty-third streets. Four¬ teenth street, between Broadway and Sixth avenue, began to drift into the retail trade soon after the establishment of Macy's, but it is only during the last two years that the full value of that location for a good retail traffic has been realized. The change in Twenty-third street has been no less unex¬ pected. When Stern Brothers opened their fine store two years ago, it seemed like a dangerous experiment, but the subsequent history of the street justifies their enter¬ prise. It is undoubtedly the destiny of Booth's Theatre to be converted in a great store, and when that is accomplished, Twenty-third street will fairly rival Four¬ teenth street. Capitalists who bought Fifth avenue property below Thirty-fourth street, with a view to its conversion into fine stores, have been disappointed in a measxire, for the change has not come there, but has lagged behind and developed itself in Twenty- third street. It is not impossible that all of Twenty-third street, west of Broadway, may in time be turned into retail stores, and be to the West Side what Grand street is to the East Side. Every street which leads to a ferry is destined to grow in importance with the development of the passenger traffic of the various railway and steamship lines. The growth of the traffic on ferries has its effect upon retail stores, and is a matter that should be carefully studied by real estate investors. Another significant development is the increase value of all avenue property upon which the elevated roads run. Sixth and Third avenues have both been greatly bene about by the elevated road system. While the elevated tracks and the rattle of the cars would naturally injury a residence street, the experience we bave had settles the question that the elevated roads add to the value of property devoted to business and the retail trade. Notwithstanding the popularity of the elevated road system, our street car system holds its own. The price of horse car stocks has risen from the increase of business. The elevated road figures will soon show how great has been the increase of travel within the past year. Taken altogether, the retrospect for the past year must be a iratis- f actory one to all real estate dealers who have exercised sound judgment. WALL STREET, The year closes upon what looks like a reasonably strong stock market, but it is dif¬ ficult to say whether this is due to manipu¬ lation, the covering of shorts or legitimate buying. One of the rumors afloat is that D|j O. Mills, James R. Keene and Henry ViUard have formed a syndicate to put the market up several points. Keene is said to have boasted that he followed Gould down when the latter was a bull, and that he proposed to follow him up, now that the latter is a bear. One of the rumors of the week is that W. H. Vanderbilt intends to retire from the management of the various railroads with which his name has been identified in the past. It is further stated that he will be succeeded by Cornelius Vanderbilt, his son. Should this prove true it will at once restore confidence in the Vanderbilt roads. Corne¬ lius is known to be the ablest as well as the most prudent of all the living Vanderbilt family. The report is, however, doubtful. Few men like to give up great power once wielded. Should Wm. H. Vanderbilt "throw up the sponge" he would leave the financial world under a cloud. The investing public agree in denouncing his recent career unspar¬ ingly. They say he has deliberately wrecked valuable railway properties and has caused a loss to innocent investors of millions of dollars. On the other hand, the merchants of New York City can have no cause of com¬ plaint with the recent management of Cen¬ tral and its allied roads. Bad as the railway war may have been for shareholders, it has been a good thing for the merchants and the business of the metropolis. The past year has been one of violent fluc¬ tuations in Wall street, probably the most extreme known in its history. The promise of the coming year is that there will be less doing in stocks than during the former three years, and that the fluctuations will not be so great. As a matter of fact, active specu¬ lation is now in general merchandise, manu¬ factured goods, coal and the metals. The great growth of business is at the manufac¬ turing centres, while the general trade of the coim.try was never so active. Unless all the 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 ^in. realty. It may not come next year, but