The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-04-08
BOON Days RECALLED
PEOPLE ARE MOVING INTO FLATS
OVER STORES AND OTHER
BUILDINGS
cRowDING INTO MINNESOTA
slSywnrd Tendency of the Realty
Market and High Price of Build
ing Material Retard Many
Structures.


Realty conditions last week were not
unlike the weeks preceding except per-
haps more people are in the market all
looking for the same class of property,
namely, small moderate priced homes
The result has not been unfavorabie to
the market Nearly everything of this
Kind has been picked UP and people who
would scorn such a thing year ago are
moving into flats over stores and agencies
are fitting up living apartments IN
! places that heretofore have been con-
| sidered untenantable.
Internationally the condition which
gives the greatest promise is the very
large number Of people who are coming
| to Minnesota from other states J. w.
Taylor, who has perhaps as many houses
| listed as any other agency in the city,
mace the statement yesterday that one
hair the houses rented by him since the
nrst OF last October had been to nom
residents. This condition applies all
over the city, and reports indicate that
more strangers are In the city now than
/ at any time since the boom days. A
! OF building material will come down,
| while many believe that the people will
eventually be compelled to meet the
market. Certainly the skyward tendency
| of the realty market has kept many
| from building, and together with the
uncertainty of labor has made this spring
an Off year in building, when If all
Things were equal it would be a record
breaker.
The statement was made few days
ago that large investment companies,
largely foreign concerns, had $4,000, 900
tied up In property that they have taken
on mortgages. In this connection, how
ever, 1t may be said that these companies
are not sacrificing the property, and on
the contrary it Is being gradually UNI
Loaded at very good figure.
j. w. Taylor said: This has been
the busiest week in ten years both In
rentals and sales. Houses are hardly
to be had, although We have q few
for rent occasioned by people changing
around. There has not been a day this
winter, and l think this is quite re-
markable for this climate when we have
not rented at least one house to q non
resident Last fall many contracts were
made for residence houses, and even
business blocks, but owing to the high
price of building material and the I'M
certainty Of labor plans they were not
carried out, We have about all the
business we can handle.
F. L. Bayard: Rents and values are
advancing slowly, but surely. Rents
have generally advanced from Is to 25
per cent and people under this condi-
ton are in many cases anxious to buy
homes of their own. AS for improved
| 4l-s ~. L.
anything to be had, and the only aIterna-
tive left is for them to build. While
building material Is higher than 1t was
| year OF two ago, yet it Is no more
costly than when times were good and
at the same time vacant property can
be bought for a surprisingly low figure
As a matter OF fact a home can be built
cheaper today than during the good
times. People have been used to pay
ing their own price for real estate and
are slow in realizing that conditions in
every branch of commerce and Industry
| are very much improved
-
William Candy: During the last week
there has been a remarkable demand for
| moderate priced residences Buyers and
sellers are coming together for the first
time in several years. 1t Is only the
uncertainty of labor coupled with the
high figure of building material that
keeps the people from building. Prospec-
tive conditions are very favorable, in
deed
Mr.. Louis Fairchild said LOW iced
houses are still in great demand, and, as
has been previously stated many times,
the visible supply does not, by long
ways; fill the demand. Last year labor
ing men fiocked in to buy small homes,
and we had an idea that this demand had
been pretty well appeased, but this spring
has brought us many buyers of this
class that we have been unable TO sup
ply, owing to the scarcity of small medi-
um-priced dwellings,. There Is an album
dance of unimproyed property on the mar
ket which finds very poor market but
we anticipate that this will move as saon
as people realize that the improved prop
erty has been pretty generally taken from
the market. There is, / believe, bound
to be break IN the present high prices
of building materials. Under the condi-
ton now existing there is but little de-
mand for building material. This will, I
believe, result in an unloading of this
product on the market and a drop in
prices"
E. ]. Meier said :, Vacant property
bought today IS janGexceilent investment.
Conditions are Just as favorable today as
in 1851. At that time, as is the case now
a heavy immigration came to the North
west 1t was the influx of people that
started the movement then. and we have
every reason to look for the same thing
this year Houses, as every one knows
who has looked for one are very scarce
Rents have advanced from Is to 20 per
cent, and the scarcity of houses and the
crowded condition of the city can on'y be
relieved by building new houses. Rent
ing agencies that a few years ago had
from 100 TO 300 vacant houses on their
hands this year have hardly a building
to offer The conditions today are very
similar to those existing just before the
boom In the early SOS. The panic oc-
Cured in 1874, and along in 1875 and 1iT9
you could hardly give property away. In
1880 a heavy immigration came to the
Northwest and the good times followed. y
H. A. Campbell said: Many people, I
believe, have mistaken idea regarding
the price of building material. 1t is true
enough that cost is higher than for the
last six or seven years, yet is must be re-
membered that those are years when ey-
erything deprecated in value and now
that prices are IN a measure restored, it
should not be at all surprising to those
contemplating building. You can buy
lot and build a house today cheaper than
ten years ago J. know of nothing that
offers a better investment than improved
residence property. No vacant houses are
Paul to grow they must do some build
ing, as the supply, of houses is far less
than the demand. IN
Considerable building is being done at
White Bear lake, Property is in consld-