Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections: The Real Estate Record

Real estate record and builders' guide: v. 77, no. 1986: April 7, 1906

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April 7, igo6 RbOORD AJND GUIDE ST" 607 ESTABUSHED ^ MABpH 21'4^ 1868, Dented pRe^lEstate.Buildi7.'g j^RcKiTEerjrxE.Ko^isEUoLDDEeQRATiotf. Bi/sii^ESSAi^D Themes OF Ge^JeraI, IKtei^est. PRICE PER YEAR TN ADVANCE EIGHT DOLLARS published ever 11 Saturdag Ccmmunlcatlon,'! sIiohIiI bo addressed to C. W. SWEET, 14-16 Vesey Street. New York Telephone, Corllandt S157 "Eiilered al tlie J'osl Office at K'rw YorZ: JV. Y, as second-class inaUer." Vol. LXXVIL APRIL 7, 1006. No, 1986 INDEX TO DEPARTMENTS. Advertising Section. Page. Pag«. Cement ....................xxv Law..........................il Consulting Engineers .........xix Lumber .................xsviil Clay Products ...............xxiv Machinery ...................iv Contractora and Builders ......v Metal Work..................xx Electrical Interest ..........viii Quick Job Directory........xxiii Fireproofing ..................iii Real Estate.................xxiii Granite ....................xxvi Roofers Sc Roofing Materials.. .x Heating ...................xxi Stone .....................xxvi Iron aud Steel..............xviii Wood Products ............xxix SEVERA.L weeks ago, when pessimism reigned in Wall Street, and financial writers were all bearish, we ventured the prediction in these columns tbat an upward turn was at hand, and assigned good reasons for the belief. Since then Wall Street has had. an advance in prices, ranging from 5 to 15 points. Three speculative leaders, namely. Union Pacific, Amalgamated Copper and Reading, have advanced 10, 13 and 15 points re¬ spectively, until halted this weelt hy dear money. From now on it lool^s as though for a while the rate for money will regu¬ late the stock marlcet, and possibly it may be so intended, as many shrewd observers insist that the money market is beiug manipulated to bring about a stock market reaction. It is charged that the same large banks that call loans in the morn¬ ing withhold money from the market, thus malving a scarcity and causing the very upbidding by frantic brokers in the after¬ noon, whicli makes the high rates, whereupon the money Is supplied by the same banks which had demanded its return the same morning. Five or six large banks, with tlieir branches aud allied institutions, practically control the funds with which Wall Street must do business or not at all. The men who control these great institutions are also the controlling spirits in the corporations whose shares are bought and sold on specu¬ lation by Wall Street commission houses, and it would tilraost seem a hopeless game to seek a profit by buying their shares frora them on the one hand, with the necessity of borrowing the money to pay for these same shares on the other hand. THESE dominant interests would seem to be better judges than the public of values, when they sell to the dear public, which has to borrow from the seller not only to make payment in the first instance, but to renew the loans from day to day pending the outcome of the venture. When thus stated, the marvel is that anybody will buy tbe leading speculative shares on margin at all, and yet just such a violent upward swing as that of the past fortnight ia irresistible, and makes the player indifferent to money rates, and the combined smaller percentages clairaed to be against his winnings. To these must be added tbe atafe tax on his operation, which, inconsiderable as it seems, still in the course of a year must be a pretty large amount in the account of an active operator. The question now is, what is immediately ahead of the stock market? Certainly, if the current high money rates are to continue, the stock mar¬ lvet cannot go on advancing, neither can real estate interests be indifferent to what is going on, because there cannot be at the same time a favorable money market for real estate opera¬ tions with an unfavorable money market for stock operations. When it comes to bidding for money, the stock operator may be counted upon to outbid all other business interests, and the Wall Street stringency might conceivably reach a point where other business interests would be halted. LAST week these columns suggested that the new traction issues were not dead but sleeping, and they have duly celebrated the predicted awakening by making a sensational advance of nearly 5 points, and there can easily be 5 points more to come, or, say, 10 points in the Metropolitan Street Railway Company's certificates of deposit. The fundamental conditions of the stock market remain unprecedented. Copper and lead keep on advancing. Iron and steel are strong all the world over. It is only a short time since we read of the de¬ mand for cars and engines in Germany being so great that a large order was placed in Italy, Now Italy is here with its Governnlent Commissioner, Signor Francesco Montefredini, to place a large order for cars and locomotives. The whole world is busy, and is getting busier, unvexed for the flrst time in five years eitlier by wars or rumors of war. Projects of all kinds that have been held back will now be pushed forward, and it may be safely said that every country on the globe in propor¬ tion to its means and population is as busy as our own, and nowadays that means the employment of iron, steel and copper. Farmer Benner, in his prophecies, builded better than he knew when four years ago he ventured a prediction covering the de¬ cade from 1901 to 1911, and said that the last flve of the years of the period ending 1911 would be years of unprecedented Iron production and consequent prosperity. It is a remarkable fact that, since the beginning of iron production, the last flve years of each decade have been the years of marvellous growth, the flrst five years being generally stationary. AN extremely good record in number of plans flled and esti¬ mated cost of the buildings projected was made for the flrst quarter of the year. The flgures printed iu last Saturday's Issue, in the regular statistical table, gave the total estimated cost of new buildings and alterations in Manhattan and the Bronx, for which plans were flled between January 2d and March SOth (Friday) inclusive, as exceeding $46,000,000, which mounts above the record of the corresponding quarter of the year 1905 to the extent of $12,000,000. Last Saturday's fllings and the slip applications for minor repairs during the quarter not heing included in the foregoing calculation, it is found from the records of the Building Bureau that for the full period and for all operations—including new buildings, alterations and minor repairs (slip applications)—the grand total for the flrst three months of the year amounted, in estimated cost, in the Borough of Manhattan alone, to J40,206,740, and that for the same period in 1905 the total estimated cost of all operations in this borough was but $28,131,714. The Bronx has not quite equaled her 1905 mark for the cost of new buildings, but goes be¬ yond it in the number of structures, while the alteration work in that borough thus far has amounted to more than three times what was planned during the corresponding period last year. In Brooklyn the projected buildings for the flrst quarter equaled in cost but not in number those planned in the first three months of 1905, and the estimated cost of alteration work is also ahead of the previous year's record for the same months. During the month of March of this year the estimated cost of all building operations in Manhattan amounted to $14,3G0,6S7; in February, to $11,465,221; and in January, to $14,381,338. Un¬ questionably the weather had a great influence on the opera¬ tions, for the total for March, 1906, is but little ahead of the record of March, 1905, while the work planned in the flrst two months of this year is nearly double what was done during the same length of time in 1905. Every promise is that the total amount of general building in Manhattan during the year 1900 will exceed what was given out last year. OfRce buildings for which plans have been filed thus far have a total estimated cost of flfty per cent, of the cost of all buildings in the same class planned during the whole of last year. In other words, plans for five million dollars' worth of such work have been flled this year, with much more to come; and the esti¬ mated total cost of all the office buildings for which plans were filed last year was $9,938,400. Over three million dollars' worth of loft and factory buildings have been planned so far, aud about 225 flat, apartment and tenement buildings. Altogether, the promise is for continued prosperity in the building trades, with wages only slightly increased over last year, and building materials not noticeably higher on the whole. WE print elsewhere some remarks which Mr. Charles H, Israels, the architect, made in an address delivered be¬ fore the Evening Real Estate Class of the New York University in regard to the Building Laws, Mr. Israels, of course, treated the matter for the benefit of his particular audience, and necessarily covered some elementary ground. The lecturer, however, has shown on many occasions the special interest which he takes in what we may call the legal aspect of profes¬ sional practice in this city. He was, indeed, we believe, the prime mover recently in directing the attention of architects to the necessity of interesting themselves in the revision of me Building Laws now in progress. He was alert to the import¬ ance of the situation, and if the Building Code is to be revised,