The daily gazette., 1877-11-28
Real Estate,

The raise and fall in real estate is atfec-
ted in Delaware just as it is in other
places; and we therefore present our
readers with the following article from
the Reading Eagle, il will be instructive
as well as interesting:
The highest price which real estate
reached was from 1868 to January l
1873, and tlom the latter date it began to
shrink in value. This Is true Of real
estate In New York, Philadelphia, Bos-
ton and Reading. Good farms located
near railroad stations have also shrunk
IN value, but not to the same extent as
city property. During this decline in the
value of real estate much of it has chang
ed hands, and some of it has sold below
the prices of 1868 and 1872 forty per cent.
and even more. The property in the
cities which has fallen the most in value
Is in the outskirts and along the alleys.
Building lots have also declined very
largely. The large number of working
people out of employment, and many of
| those who do work, get very low wages,
| SO that the landlord in the outskirts had
to shlft for his rent. In Boston the asses
| sed value of real estate has been reduced
to meet the actual shrinkage. The as
| SCISSORS of Boston last year reduced the
| valuation of ealIestate by So, ,795, 300 and
personal estate S12, 288, 800, making a
total reduction of $45 ,083, 300 as compared
with 1870. In 1877 they made further
reduction of S44, ,748,6 500 on real estate and
of s17 ,445 900 on personal estate, making
total of S62, ,l94 ,l00, which gives for the
present year valuation of $3.50, 800. 1OC
| on real and personal estate, as against
S748 ,906, 200 for 1876. The rate of lax in
Boston for the present year is 81 q Del
500. While Boston has made these not
| able reductions, New York valuations q,
| real estate remain substantially the sam,
as in 1873, though the shrinkage in value,
there has been fully as great as in Bos
ton, If not greater. On these high valua
tlons the rate of tax was steadily increa
sed from 1873 to 1876, and the rate for th,
present year is higher than that of 1873
| thus:
1873. -. 81 so on 100 1876. - $ 20 o on SIN
lel4...... 2 80 on 100 1S77........ G5 on 10
ISI5... . e4 on 100
Notwithstanding these heavy rates O
taxation in New York there is grea
activity IN building in that city. Man
persons who have been boarding In tn
past on account of the reduction in rent
have now gone to housekeeping.
1t is stated that the revival of rea
estate business is much mole marked i
I Philadelphia than in either New York @
I Boston. Persons who heretofore declir
ed to have anything to do with real estat
investments are now freely putting thei
money into it. 1Aey tind that it is bette
: , to hold real estate even if they only gt
, enough out of it to pay taxes, insuranC
and repairs, than to let it lie in bank, {
invest it in stocks with the danger of io
: ing the whole of it. there is much su
. tering IN many heretofore well-to-d
families in Philadelphia, brought abol
5 by having all their fortune invested i
q Reading, Pennsylvania and Lehigh Va
ley Railroad stock. The whole of th
: stock was purchased at prices rangir
?. from 500 share upwards. To-day
pays no dividends and has shrunk
" value from forty-eight to eighty per cer
e Instead of these families getting ten D
70 cent. on $50 share, the par value, til,
% get nothing and have been obliged to st
" stock which cost them S59 share for s
" or S44 share less than they paid for
There Is much money Offering on une
d ceptional first mortgages, much mo
n than there are takers, and the insecure
felt in many places of deposit has adva
rs ced the prices of real estate.