The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-29
REAL. ESTATE
SITUATION
Various De aIers
Give Their
Views.
INTERESTING
TESTIMONY
Letters From Geo. B. Mcclellan,
L. c. Ables and Geo.
Paris.


vertiser reporter yesterday afternoon.
that the inability of small homescekers
to find property to suit their tastes and
purses should be laid at the door of the
real estate men. The fault lies rather
with our capitalists, the wealthy lana
owners of large estates, a few of whom
completely control the market at the
lance to them to sell unless they get the
price that they themselves set upon their
property; neither will they DO so.
! "One of these property owners came 20
me some time ago with a proposition 10
| sell me certain land for the sum of $49,-
| 900. L was willing to act as his agent,
to survey the property, and tod him
that l should have little difficulty IN dis
posing of the land if he would let me
divide it into lots and sell the same on
easy terms. This he promptly refused;
nor is he the only similarly Circumstance
ed man who thinks and acts in the same
manner. Until these large property own
ers can be reasoned into allowing their
lands to be made available by subdivis-
+, ion and extended payments, the small
homeseeker will be seeking for some
time to come.
I'VE middle men are not reaping a
harvest by any means; we have plenty
| of enquiries, but we cannot get the
ha ndling of the lands. 1t is to the large
and wealthy owners that the appeal must
be made.
'sIn defense of the so-called fictitious
values it must be remembered that it is
very hard to compare Honolulu fairly
with any city on the Mainland. We are
not similarly cireumstanced at all. I'm
provements cost practically a third more
here, besides the extra cost of living,
etc, all of which causes tend to raise
the values of improved properties. Ad-
vertisng rates are higher here than on
the Mainland, because other conditions
compel such a tariff. You cannot focus
Honolulu real estate with the same glass
with which you survey that of Califor-
MIA. We are an isolated community
here. A house that would appear to an
intelligent newcomer to have cost say S2,-
| 600 will have cost at least third more
than that amount.
NO; 1 do not think that we have had
a boom here; neither do we want one.
We have weathered the cholera and the
plague but a boom would be the last
straw One thing that is affecting val
ues at the present moment is the uncer-
tainty of the actions of our Legislature.
| Our revenues have been greatly reduced
by the loss of our custom house and
postoffice and 1t is only natural that
| there should be variation in prices I'M
til some definite knowledge of how these
losses are to be counterbalanced is at
tanned.
Foreign capital has not invested
largely here; indeed the amount of out
side money expended in this way has
not affected the market one iota. With
the coming of the cable there will no
doubt be a greater demand but for a
long time yet outside opinions will con-
! tinue TO disregard the small area of our
4 territory and the fact that it is not a
newly settled country where fortunes can
be made by the first arrivals.
| Folks from the States have been so
long used to associating the opening up
of a new territory with wild rush for
claims that the discovery of fixed and,
to them, exorbitant price on all the
lground apparently available causes them
to gasp, You are too high in your prices
and are trying to boom the City, II
must, too be remembered that there are
many long leases that are soon to be
ended, at the expiration of which the-e
will be bargains for those quick enough
to secure them. AS it is. there is plenty
of land at reasonable figures a little way
out. But if you want reductions In val
ues apply to the capitalists of our CITY
| II Is no Iault or the real estate agent
FROM MIR. MCCLELLAN.
Honolulu, T. H., March IS. 1901.
Editor Advertiser: In connection with
the question of excessive prices for resi-.
dence real estate in Honolulu, 1 would
like to draw attention to the fact thai
one of the chief elements of the prob.
lem has been overlooked, viz: our TEN.
porary lack of good transportation to
suburban property.
There is a large amount Of o,,tly,np
residence property which has already
been plated, and a considerable part oil
1 which has already been sold to future
nome builders, but 1t is not available for
use at present for lack of rapid transit
AS long as the population is compelled
to remain within a circumscribed Unit
property within that limit is bound &c
be high-priced, but outside Of the pres.
ent limits of transportation, in Kahhi
kafmuki, Palolo, College Hills and else.
where, there is an abundance of desr.
able residence lots al moderate prices
quite within the reach of workinernen
mechanics and artisans
You have quoted the price of 25-toot
lots in San Francisco, which can be
had for 5000 TO $500, but in Honolulu
building lots are to be had which are
! So SiiOuSH " IIidhe ITOn TWO TO 1Otll
of the San Francisco lots at prices from
500 to $500.
Even in College Hills, which Is a more
exclusive suburb, one can buy for sSet
or $500 lot large enough to make foul
of the lots you speak of in San Francis
CO.
All of this goes to show that the pres
ent difficulty is not the lack of reason
, ably priced building lots. but of trans
portation to take the workingman. th.
clerk and the mechanic back and forth
from his home in a minimum Of tim,
and with maximum of comfort
AS soon as the present Rapid TRANSIT
Company furnishes such service Or an
other company which may be able u d.
it in a quicker time than the pre&cn
company, Honolulu viii have an abun
dance OF cheap home sites in thorough
" healthful locations, within the reacl
of everyone.
! Because in certain extra-des,raple loca