The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-05-02
AS TOREAL ESTATE
A Record of Last Month
Business.
Owners Protest Against Reductions.
Mortgage and lnterest-ProS.
poets of High Taxes.

The Real-estate Circular, published by
Thomas Magec & Sons, supplies US with ad-
vance proof sheets, from which the following
extracts are made:
fair demand for improved retail business
property continues, mostly on the part OF caDi-
faliss, although there a,e also many small
buyers looking for good business investments
worth $4,000 TO $4,000. These last are
much more difficult 10 obtain than GOOD inside
investments worth $500 10 100000 Inc
great present drawback TO sales is that. no
matter how fully sellers have met Inc guinness
,of the times. the reduction of rents and the
fall in prices of The past three years. by lower
Ing the latter, buyers always ask Tor
still further and most unreasonable GUS.
These We deliberately say should not
be granted. When all allowance for existing
depression has been made, and we'll Improved
retail business property is offered al prices
paying 51a TO per cent net, in localities. 100,
where values have not yet by any means
reached their maximum, further reductions
should be resisted. There is nothing In sight,
In either city or country, equal or nearly equal
TO such investments. ana they will assert them
selves and bring their price on sucn eood net
incomes before long, du as times are ana dry
as the weather is In reference 10 the existing
drought. one of our oldest and richest citizens
says that his experience Is that people are
never set back by dry year 10 making nur-
chases Ok real estate. Every country suHeIs
periodically from either loo much or too little
rain.
The total number of city land sales last month
was 3O6, OF the total value OF S1,79l.oo4-
Money continues abundant at the savings
banks. but they have not yet resumed loanlng
In the country. Nor are they Kely TO DO 50 Tor
some time Yet, but old. satisfactory loans ma
turing on country property are all Willingly
renewed. The banks have been relnVesting IN
bonds which they parted with when The run
occurred last year, and which they always Keep
Oh hand Tor times of panic. But neither city
loans nor investments in bonds have yet alb
sorbed or nearly absorbed the large supply OF
money at the savings banks. There has ds vet
been no reduction of the rate OF interest, which
sui remains at per cent, the banks paying
the mortgage tax. That tax this year IS likely
10 leave he net rate 10 the lenders only 5.2O or
$50 per cent. This Is high rate In such hard
and Improbable times. Of low rents and many
vacancies, especially where the borrower owns
any KIND OF dwelling properly. he total num-
Der OF city real estate mortgages IN April was
410, Of the total value of $1,73O.39O. The
total cancellation of mortgages was 1877, OF the
value OF 1922. 4S5.
The Board Of Supervisors will have TO add an
existing deficit Of about 100000 10 the next
TAX levy. They have also an election to provide
for. the expenses Tor which variously esti-
mated from S150,O00 10 S200000 added TO the
general expenditures. which. IL Is safe 10 say,
will rot be less than those OF The present year.
The City Hall, 1t is promised, Will be finished
with the present approximation, ana IL no levy
Is made Tor that purpose II Is safe 10 assert That
the next tax levy for municipal purposes VIII
not b. less than 81 03 if the pledge is observed
being the same amount as the levy OF the pres
ent year. What retrenehments can be effected
II IS the duty of our Supervisors 10 make, but so
long as the powers conferred are so vested that
expenditures can be made by authority OF the
courts IN excess of the appropriations, dehcien
cies will occur and outrageous legal indebted
ness be thereby incurred. As for the State, II Is
beyond question that The State tax VIII be in
creased from + 10 cents. As is well known,
the general imitation of real estate values has
a hp-
fore the conditions Will justify the resumption OF
The last assessed value. Assessors In their VAL
nations must necessarily reduce the assessments
10 meet the depreciation IN values. The entire
valuation Of real and personal property in the
State aggregates about 81, 217.000,00O. on
which the State tax WAS 57.6 cents last year.
II may be predicted that for the coming year
The State tax will Ue from 81 10 SO cents on
each 500 OF assessed values. so that our total
State and city and county tax VIII be In the
Iul tax rate for taxpayers 10 contemplate In
such year as this. so long as the State is
conducted on the principles Of an eleemosynary
institution the State tax will continue To in
crease.
George T. Marys owns 80 feet on Market
street. northeast OF City Hall avenue, with a
depth OF 200 feet to Park avenue in the rear.
There is an ordinary two-story brick building
on this lot, covering 1t all. One tenant pays
S425 a month for The property, and that out
aud county tax bill was S1429 2S, about three
and half months of the total rents-neary
One-thrd, not OF The me-, but OF the gross yearly
income. The year before the taxes were even
higher on this property. But we are not taxed
heavily here Oh no. not by any meansi
We are proud 10 mention again that San
Francisco Is the fourth city In the United States
aud the ninth in the world. in tile amount of
area which she has set aside for her parks and
squares. The air IN Golden Gate and Uncle
Sans Preside parks will be forever pure
Those parks are near 10 the ocean and Golden
GAZE, and the OZone-laden air comes In IN
contaminated and unconfned from the six
thousand miles OF the broad Pacific TO the west
OF them.
The New York real estate market is described
as very inactive. Buyers insist upon 51a 10
6 per cent net income from their purchases,
which sellers generally refuse 10 grant. These
net rates can now be obtained from the best
business property here. but buyers want even
beiter net rates. They are not. however, get
ting, and should not get them.
In The growth OF various cities Of the United
States from 1880 TO 1890, leaving Chicago
aside. San FranclscO's increase is only 134 per
cent below the general average OF all the lead
ing cities OF the whole country.