New-York tribune., 1903-05-17
| THE WEEK IN RE4LTY.
Business Fairly Good-Purchases IN
Fifty-ffth-st.

a fair volume of business. considering the pre-
vailing conditions the building lines. trans
acted last week. One Of the leading deals the
purchase by the Oxford Realty Company of Nos
20 and Y West Fffty-ffth-st each 16Sx1005 feet
from Edward ". Harris and Tracy H. Harris
The same company also bought No SO West Fifty
f0urth-st, 68x1005 feet which adjoins the Fifty
ffth-st. parcel in the rear. It already owned No
Il West Fifty-ffth-st. On this plot which has
frontage of 584 feet IN Fffty-ffth-st. and 16S feet
in Fffty-fOurth-st. the company previously
ported, will erect twelve story freproof apart
Hent hotel. Brooke & Georger were the brokers in
the sale of the various properties TO the Oxford
Realty Company.
The purchasing movement east of Broadway and
just north of the Brooklyn Bridge continues Early
in the week the announcement was made that De
derrick Knabe, vice-president of the Consumers
Brewing Company. had bought from the estate of
Judge Hilton plot, with old buildings at the
junction Of Centre, New Elm and Duane sts. and
that plans for a twenty-one story Office building
stand on the site being drawn by Max Muller
me property has frontage Of 100 feet in Centres
50 feet in New Eln-st. and a line of 80 feet
1t was later learned that the old buildings Nos
Is and Is Chambers-st. had been sold by Caroline
+ ana Marie l. Wight to g syndicate said
PRISE seven persons The Sire Brothers and Will
lam F Sheehan We're said TO be the leading spirits
in the syndicate The buyers already own in this
block Nos. 50 to s. and 80 to 81 Park Row. part Of
which parcel abuts the Chambers-st. plot. Mayor
Low recently said he wGs favor of the erection
OF large municipal building and union subway
and elevated station the block Since then a
number of sales there have been made and the de-
nland for parcels is growing a vigorous rate
Statistics show that the total amount involved in
the conyeyances in Manhattan and The Bronx from
January to date s62 501 342 as against $73
ISo for the corresponding period last year. The
total sum loaned bond and mortgage in Man
haitian and The Bronx from January to date was
SlZ7 s9 against S135 41823 for the same time
last year From January ! TO date 6s1 plans for
buildings to be built in The Bronx or Manhattan
were filed at the Buildings Department The num-
Der Of plans filed for the period last year
0ss The approximate cost Of the 681 buildings is
Sl24S.l25 and for the 6s9 buildings $33 3014.409
REALTY PAPERS OPINION
THE Real Estate Record and Guide" in its last
issue says in an article the real estate situation:
Considering the period of the year and the many
escoutagtng 81 conditions there has been very fair
These sales consisted chiefly Of Iow-prtced dwell
transactions OF hrst-rate Importance realty com
pany purchased a plot in FTfty-ffth-st.
and J, r & J. A Farley succeeded in sernE a
GVC'V private residence Whlcn they mad erected IN
r EIIth,ave, between Sixty-fourth and Sixty-ffth
Sts The purchaser was a woman who apparently
pressure Of business.
Sufficient activity was shown-that is TO warrant
Favorable it would have been a large rather than
small week: but Of course conditions were dis
tincty unfavorabe. No single cause is more likely
70 put damper real estate transact than
It is only very strong builder and operator who
viii buy property for improvement with the danger
ahead Of him that he may have to hold it for
months IN unremunerative state. Moreover. the
prospect Of a enforced stOppage of building Oper-
atOns tends to demoralize the whole market.
Builders build and operators operate largely with
borrowed money, and frequently & very small
argin- In order make their SpeCuIations good.
the machinery work very SmOOthly-the
building. that IS. must be completed time. must
be quickly rented, and comparatively quickly sold,
A hitch in this machinery spells ruin for many
builders and means a large number Of foreclosure
sales
This is always of the reasons why it is
difficult secure effective and cordial cooperation
the part of the employers in the building trades
in any struggle against their employees 1t is easier
submit to outrageous and exasperating demands
than it is to face probable bankruptcy or, at the
best. heavy losses, and at the present time great
uneasiness prevails throughout the trade IN this
city. It should he added that the consequences of
q lengthy shutdown would be very serious for the
occupiers well for the builders Of new struC
lures
As-we pointed out recently. Manhattan is getting
along at the present time with very small margin
of unoccuped dwelling space; and if the tenements
and apartment houses now sufficiently under way
not completed by next fan, 1t Is possible that
there will be a Veritabe house famine throughout
the season of 1s03-'04, Such famine would put
money temporarily in the pockets of some real
estate owners but it would in the long run be
very bad thing for Manhattan residence property,
II would add another TO the many reasons which
people find IN favor Of deserting Manhattan for the
other b0TOughs.