The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-27
TOO VALUABLE TO SELL.
Where Property Can Scarcely Be
Bought for Love or Money.

There are twenty or thirty great bust
ness centers in the city of London where
property is of almost equal value and ra ted
exceedingly high. To buy the four acres
now occupied by the Bank of England and
bounded by Princess. Threadneedle and
Lothberry streets and Bartholomew lane
1t would be necessary to produce well
certified check for the snug sum of S40-
600, 000. Ten million dollars per acre is the
valuation made not long ago on lot in
the vicinity of the bank, and a lease was
made on that basis. Plccadilly. Strand,
Fleet street. Cbaring Cross and other bust
ness streets in London have corners worth
from $4,000 to 100000 a front foot.
The owners Of this property. being as a
rule men OF estates or great wealth, are
satisfied with to 2R per cent on their in
vestments, while here the owners of such
property expect to per cent, conse-
quently land Is a good deal higher In the
business center of London tnan il is in
Chicago. | notice that on tie secondhand
business streets in London land is held
about twice as high as 1t IS here. In the
suburbs OF London great deal of prop
erty has been sold out by the lot by
methods similar to ours. London is fast
becoming a great city of home-owners.
The managers Of large estates that were
held for number of years upon leases
made on low valuation concluded that it
would be better to subdivide the property
and sell II out into lots, and reinvest the
money. This has been done to great ex-
tent in ali parts If the city OF London and
probably accounts for the wonderful in
crease in population during the last fifty
years. Small buildings. such as we sell
for $500 TO $1,000, are SOLD in London for
almost twice that sum.
In Paris little property is offered for
sale. in fact sign board Is a rarity, al
a
property on the back streets for lease. 1t
is very hard TO get any Information about
property in Paris. Most of it is held by
owners who are wealthy ana refuse to sell,
but on the principal streets the rent of the
stores Is high. considering their size the
stores being very shallow ard small.
Prices are no doubt higher, the rental
value considered, than in Chicago.
In Venice scarcely any property is
offered for sale. The city has decreased
In population, but there seem to be no
vacant houses. and the only way | could
ascertain the value of property was to
figure out the rents on the business streets,
which were higher. all things considered,
than In Chicago. In the old city of Rome
rents on two or three of the principal
streets are very high. and the stores being
small 1t would seem that a small income
must be produced according TO the value
held upon the land. In some directions
being erected. and land for an ordinary
residence lot 10 a rather ponr locality,
compared with any of our suburbs, would
be about 30 or 40 per cent higher than the
prices we ask.
Even in Cairo, Egypt, the price OF lots
along the business streets would astonish
an American. l asked the proprietor of
an English store called the Manchester.
located near Shepheard's Hotel, what rent
he paid. The store was about % feet front
by about 40 feet deep, with small annex
half as large. He answered that he paid
about $1,000 per annum. 1t did not look to
be worth over $500. Cairo has population
of about $50, 900. and there are some stores
in the Turkish quarters where the bazaars
are about four feet square-room enough
for the proprietor TO sit tailor fashion and
sell his wares 10 passers-by-whch bring
about 500 a month.
Even in Jerusalem q boom is in progress
on account of the railroad having beer ex
tended to that city, and lots were selling
for $500 to $500 that we would consider
high at 5000; and discovered In nearly
every city l visited. even in old Athens.
which is rapidly increasing in population
under the administration of King George.
that lots were selling on the outskirts for
$500 TO $500.