The morning call., 1893-02-01
CITY REAL ESTATE.
The News From the Magee
Circular.
JANUARY BUILDING NOTES.
An Improvement Noticeable in the
Market for Realty Property in
This City.
JANUARY BUILDING NOTES.

From advance proofs of Thomas Magee's
Real Estate Circular for the month of jan
uaTy:
An Improvement was noticeable In the
real estate market in January. There was
more inquiry. and buyers, Tor the moment
az least. seemed TO have lost the convection
hat tbev should be allowed wholly 10 name
tie prices at which they would invest. On
the other hand quite number OF safes were
lost By owners refusing good pFlces-gOOu
esneciaIlv ia view of the much greater pur-
chasing power of money at present than
that commodity had two years ago.
seller Is fully justified in taking lower
nrice now than he would have accepted
then. for the reason named. III ne
now sells cheap ne Is Akeiy 10
bnv still cheaper The great majority
Of buyers, as usual, are now reversing the
rule OF true real estate wisdom, which IS 10
buy when there is a DreponderCnce OIL sell
ers. That is the time for bargains. but,
because he would then be atone, the average
buyer has not enough mind OF ms own 10
invest. BE will only buy with the crowd,
and, buying then, he avs . to 10 per cent
more than fair price. Similarly the aver
age seller will not sell when every BODY
wants to buy The offer OF very hiSh, or
even double price. usually only results IN
causing him TO advance to treole or even
ouadruule prices These facts have much
n do with the periodical times ofreal estate
imitation and depression. The crowds rush
IN 10 buy W hen times are good. and utterly
refuse 20 buy 10 seasons OF depression. Inc
result is imitation in the one case and
great fall Of prices in the other. The lonely
man If good seuse-and he Is very lonely
sells freely ST full prices in the one stage
and buys even more fully IN the other. The
crowd M the good times preach everlasting
and rapid advance Of real estate prices, ana,
senselesSiy stopping over IN bad times,
prOphesy everlasting depression ana con-
tluuOus fall. Real estate wtsdoms pat
meantime, IS The medium way with only
here and there traveller. In view OF the
special causes for duh times and low prices
the wonder now 3 not that real estate IS
dull and pr ceS dropping, but that the
aggregate sales are not smaller and rates
still p ore reduced. We have. however con-
haence-a b.ding conhdence-in the future
Of the city, and Of rs ultimate dehveTance
from the power Of the railroad monopoly.
Henry said Of his small ana lil-equlpped
army, on the eve Of q great battle, All
things are ready # our minds be so" Here
aud DOW al things are ready Tor pushing
San Francisco ahead If her peoples IN nds
we're even ualf ready. for the advance
money-the chief siuews Tor industr Al and
development as for all other Tars-ls here
IL abundance: all materials Of men. SIX j!
and knowledge are here, too. We hope
soon to see all IF these means freely avail Ell
Of, and real estate depression and falling
prices brought te an end.
The Money Market.
Money tends downward. and. in visw OF
an increase of nearly ten millions Of dol aTS
in our city savings banks in 1892 the DUH
ness Of real estate, and therefore lessened
demand for money for It's purchase or I'M
proyement. We ara surprised that reduc-
ton has not ere this occurred Choice loans
can, il IS true. bs made al 62 per cent but
they must be very choice 10 secure that
rate. There was very good demand from
country borrowers in January. Money Is
worth from 10 10 per cent in Portlend,
Oregon. MOuey-endeTs there complain
that two or three OF the San Francisco
savings banks have invaded that field. In
THIS way portion OF the surplus money {
the banks Is being employed, and much
needed reduction Of rates 10 the city at
least temporarily STAYED of,
Oar city savings banks now hold deposits
amounting 10 over S107 100000. Their de-
posts Increased nearly $4,000, 900 in 1892.
II this increase Of last year represented the
aggregate small savings Of mechanics, la
b0rers servaDi-gIrls and cierks-iOr the re-
ceipt Of whose savings these banks wers es-
tabllshed-there would be great cause for
congTatulatiOn, because il would lie iudica-
tive OF most >peTOuS times for these
classes; but IL does not. ThTee-f0urths Of
this Increase, We Judge. came from people
Of mean, who find that, by placing their
Auhucg tl Lrl III 0cpO>lA Win lAroc Uduhs.
they can get ; to IS per cent for their
money. Rather than take any risk
IN building railroads or In any other
work Of DEVELOPMENT, in either city or
country, they store the money away in
banks which were never created for their
use, and 0 nothing but draw the interest.
These people Of wealth, meanwhile, COM
PLAIN loudly Of hard times. Of the dullness
of city real estate Of The exactions Of the
railroad monopoly, etc; bat so far as any
thing useful or practical is concerned the
great majority of them ara deadweights
This condition Of affairs is one of the
prominent causes of hard times. We, of
course, recognize the immense value Of our
savings banks TO both deDositors and Dor
ToweTs and the aid hey have given In their
loans 10 the inter or for the development OF
the State. They are the very sheet anchor
o. city real estate, too; but both the city
and State would now be vastly benefited If
the large sums being deposited in these
banks we're scattered in the work of other
developments than l0aning them out on
landed values.
Earning Real Estate Increase.
The only men in this city who are now
doing solid work for increase Of real estate
values are those who aid new steamship
and sail lines to and from New York and
Europe. or who plan and build new railroad
pes and new factories. Their work hon.
estly earns-Ge say eaTns-iBcrease OF real
estate values. These values are frequently
run I'D in times of excitement for one false
reason and another. They only legitimately
and permanently incTease-they are In short
only earned-by PROJECTS that permanently
increase trade. wealth and population. The
Increase created by boomers and Spectators
Is simply ballooning and false quantity.
Real city and State building can no more be
accomplished that way than the hilarity of
drunkenness can be reckoned as a per
manent factor IN human health and hapDi-
ness In this connection we may note
that. in PROPORTION to its size. San Francisco
has more large real estate owners who are
useless drOnes than perhaps any large city
OF the union. They exact the very highest
attanable rents and never do anything, be-
yond building an occasional building, for
the permanent prosperity OF the city. They
neither build nor aid in building any steam
ships, railroads or factories for the deyel-
opment OF any of the many various re-
EOurces OF the State. The men who are
doing whatever is being done in these direc-
tons are nesrly all borrowers. They have
the enterprise, but net the money; hence
they can frequently do COMPARATIVELY little
1t Is because OF these facts that the South
ern Pacific monopoly treats the city and
State IN the matter OF freights and fares
precisely as though both were its private
property. On this subject we find the fol-
lowing in the Portland Oregonian:
Above forty years ago. when Portland was
bCdfccly YET ef6u a TOWNSHIP. NUMBER OF men,
VINO have since attained to emlnence In our
affairs came from tile East aud started business
here. They were not boomers" They did not
come to speculate In real estate Their object
was 10 Ope7 tie country 10 trade. 10 supply It's
wants, To develop It's resources. 10 open for IL
routes OF transportation and TO market Its prod
ucts. To these objects they devoted themselves
with Industry and sagacIty. They worked hard.
Great factors they became in the making oil
Oregon, and they placed Portland, which then
did not lack rivals as powerful as herself, at he
head Of tie development OF the Northwest. They
made Portland commercial city; their work
mas made II railroad city, aud, under the I'm
purse OF grow TO which they so largely con-
trl0ultd, II IS gradually becoming manufacture
Ing city. These men have been foremost Ia
eVe Ty enterprise. " 18th counsel with money
Wild labor, they have not merely assisted but
nave taken the lead In every undertaking fOT the
benenI ana prospefily OF the city. Through their
sOid business qualities aud unTemitiIng sDdeay.
or, Portland has been founded on ba is so
Hnbstaniial Thai is .nIldIIu H. 49,, =.