The morning call., 1894-01-01
REALTY IN 1898.
Magee's Circular Presents
a Review.
DEDUCTIONS BY THE EDITOR
Dizziness in New York, Boston
and Other Cities.
IN THE FOUNDRY DISTRICT.
The Savings Banks and Dividends
in the Future Prospects for
Borrowers of Money.
IN THE FOUNDRY DISTRICT.


Magee, is taken the following extracts of
sales and the condition of the real estate
market in 1898. The circular now enters
upon its twenty-eighth year. during all
of which time Thomas Magee has been
the editor:
In our review OF the real estate market for
1892 we did not anticipate an active business
for 1898. We then stated that the dullness
whic began IN May, 1891, and was continued
up to the close of 1892, would continue through
1898. That dullneSS not only continued, but
was greatly intensified by run on our savings
banks in June last. This run only lasted for
wO days but so much money was either then
Withdrawn or called for that the city savings
banks, the mainstay of city real estate, stopped
lending altogether in June and have not re-
sumed lOaning since. That the dizziness IN
sales and dispersion in prices existing before
that event were both intensified by it was TO be
expected, and Is fully shown by the TACT that
while 6757 sales of San Francisco real estate
were made in 1891, Of the total value OF
$27, 431, 1872, and 1858 sales in 1892. OF the
total value OF S2051S 955 only 4117 sales
were made in. 1898, OF the total value of S13,-
62l ,492. The reduction in the number aud
value OF the sales last year was much greater
than the reduction IN prices, yet there was also
quite reduction in prices. Ii would be true
to.say, In a general way, that twO-thlrds OF the
sales OF 1898 exhibit a Teduc Ion of 20 per cent
from tic prices of May. 1891, when The dull
ness began, H6ile in many suburban localities
the fall was muclf greater than that Some few
tail districts advanced, but the number OF sales
showing an advance was very small
DULL TIMES AND LOW PRICES.
Ali of this was to be expected here, since the
same condition of things exlsSs everywhere
else-at New York, Boston, Chicago, London
and in really all other cities OF the Atlantic
States and Europe. o Illustrate this We quote
The two following paragraphs the hrst from
the Chicago Real Estate journal and the
second from the New York Real Estate
Record:
sales OF real estate a source of commission
brokers are no longer counted among the prob
bilitieS of the average office. The hope of goo
fall and winter demand for property has bee
practically given up. . The local apathy
something painful. Property is not only not
demand, but II is practically unstable at anythiI
like its real value.
The New YORK real estate market has APPARENT
settled dOwnfor a tug oG-war between buyers
sellers. Trading has come almost to a staudsttl
owners refusing part with their property at tt
prices offered and would-be buyers refusing
bid up to the prices demanded The margin b.
tween the two camps is evidently wider just no
than 1t has been for several years, and until COZ
SESSIONS made side or the other tn
market Will remain stagnant.
PROPERTY BETWEEN FIRST AND sTEUART.
Property In the above portion Of the city wa
depressed last year. II is the region WbeT
fOundries. factories lumber-yards and planning
mills are, or rather were, most abundant. On
OF the largest fOundrles moved away from i.
and many lumber-yarQs and some mills
have gone. These removals in all cases wert
TO larger space and cheaper rents. The Harbo
Commissioners have let various hfty-vara lot
on the water front owned by the State TO SOM
of these tenants at an average rent OF but abOu
| 500 month. but the greater number of IL
removals of late have been to Mission Bay. be
tween Third, Sixth, Brannan and Channel
Channel street has Sufficient depth OF water a
| low tide TO admit cOastlng vessels as large a
| three-masted SchOOnerS and barkentines, Oui
which lumber ana other cargoeS can be paSseo
direct from the vessels into the leased premises
the waterway constituting the street, which l.
$50 wide. This advantage, combined with the
closeneSs of the freight depOts of the Southern
DaniH RaU VnTy nns rahl
place for lumber-yardS, planlng mills, factor
les warehouses, etc.
SALES IN THE WESTERN ADDITION.
Seven hundred ana seventy-one sales, of thi
value of S4,S76, 566, were made west of Larkil
street in 1898 AGAINST SAG sales, amounting Il
S5,737, 039 in 1892. Taking this district as
/ whole, values fell off about 20 per cent las
/ year The Pacific Heights portion of the
|. Western Addition held It's own far better thai
| any other residence district of the city; bn
|. even there prices were weak. That portion
/ the Western Addition in which credit sales ant
| booming most pTevalled-say between Devlsa
/ dero, SIanyan, McAlister and Waller-ha
suffered most. Lots on Page. Oak, Fell an
/ other streets, facing or contiguous TO the paI
handle Of the park, which sold two to fou
years ago 1t $500 to 5000 EACH are no
Quotabe a. S2350 TO $500 each.
The number and value OF the sales at II
Mission last year were proportionately large
than in any other suburb of the city. but prict
were as weak there as elsewhere.
OUTSIDE LANDS.
/ "a
side land sales fell of 1873 In number an
S6S6.520 in value. Prices are 15 TO 80 pt
cent of, although lots near where the Mldwil
| ter Fair is situated have advanced IN the ST
caused by it,. Lots in the desert far south
the park andn the county line have great
fallen in price.
H.. THE MONEY MARKET.
The savings banks of the city lent onl
/ S13, T43. 49, on city real estate in 1893 again;
| sic. O60 91S in 1892, They rel leased mortgage
OF the. value of S9,383, 964 last year, agains
n - :. raloa No
| practically, has been loaned by our city saving
| banks since June last; when the run occurred
| The run was occasiOned by the sympathy viii
| thu financial disturbances at the East an
| somewhat intensified by the failure of one con
mercial and one sO-caled savings bank. Yt
these failures, which had no bearing VIII atevt
on real savings bank business, created a run
| wien some Sc, 000,0 were Withdrawn frol
the latter institutions, The scare, so far as u
| leading savings banks were concerned. was
early wholly groundlesS as 1t ever has been
| their history. The same scare prevailed at Il
East. and 1t is a strange Illustration OF no
such panics drivethe most stable OF secuIiti
downward that one of our banks lost Is p
cent in selling Government bonds In New YOI
with which TO meet the senSeleSs rush here
depOsitors for their money.
And yet there was one point OF justifcatio
| for this run, and the majority of the saving
| banks had themselves TO blame for il. The
have been paying from TO l 12 per cent yea
more to deposiIors in dividends than the bes
interest OF the community would justify. They
| thereby invited money In large sums, which
| they never should have received at all. AT The
| faintest sign of panic these large depOsitors
are The first to rush for their money and to give
the most annoyance.
DIVIDEND RATES IN FUTURE.
Deposrtors, we believe, ana sincerely hope
| Will receive at the half-yearly January term
! their last dividends of per cent aud over, and
! 4 10 Az per cent Is all they should have been
| paid for long time past. and all they will
| celve for the future. Borrowers will then get
money cheaper and thus genuine development
| will be aided. The margins loaned on property
! will be reduced, too, and thus speculation Will
/ be discouraged. BoIh of these cOnsummations
| are devoutv to be wished. The savings banks
in short, will b. even more careful in the future
| thar they have been in the past, although as
rule they have for the past SIX years been most
| careful and. conservative.
PROSPECTS FOR MONEY.
| The present prospect Is that our city Savings
| banks will resume lending this month, but
| probably only 10 limit extent for. two or
| three months, so that they may be ready i'll case
| of senseless pancS. Caution will characte rize
| their policy Tor some time, although the three
/ leading banks have now over i've millions of
| dollars Of cash on h3nd-money which would
| be of vast public benefit If ii could now be lent
out, as It most surely could be. The amount
| Of money on hand now at the savings banks
about equals all that has been drawn from
them since June last. Quite half OF what has