Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 62, no. 1598: October 29, 1898

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Record and Guide ESTABLISHED^ a; ©mi. PRICE PER YEAR IN ADVANCE SIX DOLLARS. Fublisftea every Saturday, Telephone, Cohtlandt 1370. Copununloationa should be addrened to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. J. l.Ln^BSET, Business Manager. '' Entered at the Post-OS ice at New ^orle, X. Y., as second-class matter." Vol. LXII. OCTOBER 29, 1898. 1,598 SOMEWHAT to the surprise of many, cheerfulness has reigned in Wall Street this week. There was an increase in the professional operations and some new buying of bonds of recent issue. The"reasons for this change of feeling are not quite clear, in view of the prices at which the most favored securities stand, but there have appeared announcements that reflect favorably on the business situation. Some of the railroads in the South and Southwest, which have surprised their friends by loss of earnings for some time—for instance, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas—have lately reported substantial increases, and have thereby assisted the growth of a more cheerful feeling. As in the case of the repentant sinner, this causes more ]oy than the continuation of increases on roads that have not offended hy lapses into decreases. The report of the Labor Bureau of this State showing that the number of people employed at a recent date was 56,000 more than was the ease at the same time las', year, reveals a good condition of business in the State, while the report of the Post Offlce of increased postal matter in the past quarter, offers somewhat similar testimony to the condition of business in the country at large. Here, also, money is easier than it is abroad. In the nature of things, these developments will flnd reflections in the security market. Wall Street seems further to have made up its mind that it has nothing to fear from the elections; that the results will not raise suspicions of the stability of the gold standard, or interfere with a policy abroad that it chooses to consider is necessary to the further develop¬ ment of the commerce of the country. As to the war-cloud in Europe, that is regarded rather as favorable to this side than otherwise. Presumably, it is thought that war would raise prices and create an unusual demand for our produce and certain lines of our manufactures. It is only on this supposition that the way the market strengthened and advanced simultaneously with London selling can be explained. IF, as is now stated, Great Britain has determined to bring the Egyptian question forward in a shape that will compel its final settlement, either hy ronflrming her possession or providing a form of government for Egypt that will be satisfactory all round, the rest of the world will have reason to be glad. The present anomalous condition, of an occupation which everyone knows is only nominally temporary, gives rise to endless trouble and ought to be ended. If this issue is now raised, it is hard to imagine that its determination will take any other form than the one most pleasing to Great Britain, and if France is dissatis¬ fied with this prospect, she can thank her diplomats, because their policy of petty annoyance was so well calculated to arouse Great Britain to take a flrm stand, and to give her the sym¬ pathy of other countries in doing so. A bold declaration of an intention to stay permanently in Egypt would not create more anxiety or inconvenience to the world at large than the fact of Major Marchand's presence at Fashoda has done, or be more provocative of war. It would only place the boot upon the other leg. Business is more affected by the continued stringency in money which is being felt at all the European financial centres, with increasing force, of course, as relations with the greatest ones are loose, than by the political situation. It is expected that, while some relief is in sight, there will be no real ease until after the new year. The rapid growth of commercial demands upon capital is illustrated by a recent statement of the amount of money invested in Great Britain in a comparatively new in¬ dustry, the electrical. This is said to have been, in 1896, roundly, ?300,000.000, and in 1898 to be $425,500,000, without taking gov¬ ernment telegraphs and telephones, on which $3,500,000 was ex¬ pended in the interval given, into the account. The results of attempts to reform bourse business In both Paris and Berlin have been unfortunate so far as the governmental revenues are con¬ cerned. Onerous taxes and regulations have driven large amounta of business away from the bourses to be done over bankers' counters, where the transactions are not taxed. The German iron and steel manufacturers, alarmed by recent consolidations in those trades on this side of the Atlantic and the increased competition that they indicate, are contemplating organization to meet it. Their intended programme is said to include a union of the export agencies of the various syndicates and organized efforts for the procurement abroad of orders for large quantities of wares. As yet an advance of protective duties does not appeal to be included in the plans. CONVEYANCES, MORTGAGES AND MONEY. LAST week we published our tabular summaries of the con¬ veyances, mortgages, etc., for the immediately past and preceding quarters of this year, which were doubtless carefully perused by our readers, and their many points of interest noted. This week we propose to refer to some features, that we think ought to be brought out with some distinctness, which the time available between the completion of the tables and their pub¬ lication would not allow us to do earlier. "We have already dealt with the distribution of the conveyances of last quarter, and at the same time presented some reflections on the general results shown by tbe flgures in that branch of our tables, so that little remains to be added to that subject. In examining the flgures relating to considerations we found recently that the average favored the quarter of this year. A like examination shows that was the case throughout the year. Por the nine months we have 4,803 transfers with considerations amounting to a total of $76,- 021,008, or an average of something over $15,800 to set in com¬ parison with similar figures for the corresponding three quarters of 1897 of 5,901, $86,106,158 and a little less than $14,600 respect¬ ively. The flnal result is $1,200 per transfer more for this year than last. For the last quarter the showing in this respect was still better, as a reference to our flgures will prove, although the falling off in transfers was more considerable than in the three quarters taken together. The average per transfer of the number reported, with considerations, was $15,578, as compared with $12,476 in the same quarter of last year, a gain on the average of more than $3,000 per parcel. The separate figures for the Bronx display a large falling off in conveyances for the third quarter, though for the nine mouths they compare favorably with 1897. In the average reported consideration over the larger period there is the considerable gain of $1,100, the averages for the two years being $5,300 and $4,200. In the last of the three quarters of the two years the averages work out at $3,800 for last year and $5,300 for this, which suggests that there was a depression in Bronx realty in the summer months of 1897 which was not seen in those of this year. Probably the most interesting of the tables presented last week was that relating to New York mortgages, especially in so far as it indicated whether there had been any change of disposition of the money market toward realty. The last quarter saw some nervousness and stringency, due to the locking up of funds to pay for the new government S's when they should be issued, and it would not have been surprising if it appeared that realty loans were not only harder to obtain in that period, but also if the terms were more onerous. The amount of money loaned on realty last quarter was very much less than it was in the same time last year, but of the amount that was loaned a fair propor¬ tion was at the lower rates of interest. In our issue of Septem¬ ber 24th last, we treated the question of the course of realty mortgage interest rates at some length. We showed then that the proportions of the annual totals for the five years 1893-97, representing mortgages made at over 5%, varied from 22.3% in 1893 to 29% in 1897, and rose to 31.3 in the first half of 1898. Similar proportions of mortgages made at 5% ran from 51.4% in 1894 to 44.6 in 1897, and to 40.4% in the first half of this year. Loans made at less than 5% were 18.3% of the total for 1893; 29.2% of the total for 1895 and 26.6% of the total in 1897, the per¬ centage rising to 28.3% for the flrst half of this year. In the third quarter of this year these percentages were 37.7% over 5%; 33.3% at 5% and 29% at less than 5%. It will be seen from these flgures that proportioned to the total amount loaned more money is being placed on realty at the lowest rates. It must be admitted, also, that the loans made at the highest rates are in¬ creasing in proportion, but this is probably explained by a larger building loan business than usual and a rapid development of the outlying sections of a more or less experimental character. The tendency of the market toward proved realty is more truly indicated by the loss in 5% loans, that having been the standard rate, and the gain in loans at rates below that figure. While on this subject it may not be without value, if briefly we take up again the general qriestion of realty interest rates and point out some facts that support our views that their tend¬ ency is downward. First, it may be confldently stated that that