Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-19
REAL ESTATE GOSSIP
The Present Condition of the
Rental Market.
BUsIN EsS PROPERTY
BROKERS NOTE GROWING CON-
SEQUENCE OF HOUSE SELLING.
Changes in the City and the Effect
Upon Real Estate, Especially in
Commercial Sections.
BUSINESS PROPERTY

dition to the interest which attaches to the
transfer of the ownership of such fne
residence property a further significance
1t Is believed that Mr.. HUFF will now carry
out plans which he had In mind some ti1ne
ago when he bought an ample building
site at the northwest corner OF Ne"
Hampshire avenue and Q street. 1t was
then his purpose to build there handsome
home for his own use, and 1T Is thought
that he will now undertake that enter
prise.
tractive section of the city, and is sur
rounded by fine homes. and no DOUBT tue
one Mr.. HUFF will put up Will De IN Keep
ing with the surroundings.
Thirty Houses to Be Built
A large building project Is to be, carried
out by Mr.. John w. Points. who has plans
for the erection of some thirty houses IN
Petworth, which is the subdivision on
line with New Hampshire avenue Just
north of the grounds of the Soldiers, Home
and bordering that fine park Inc 10
cations selected are on Philadelphia. IL
linois and Newark streets.
Good Rental Season.
The condition of the rental market. &C
cording to the statements of brokers
whose lists of houses for rent comprise
large portion of those available continues
to be good In fact, 1t is said the demand
equals that of last season, which was rec
ognized as one of the liveliest that mas
been known in this market for some time
past 1t is believed that the demand Will
exhaust the present supply as the hs' oi
houses for rent is rapidly diminishing
1t is also reported that the prospects Tor
the new houses and also for the apartment.
houses that are nearing completion ana
that will be ready for use during the pres
ent season are very encouraging. and that
a large number have already been engaged
even in cases where the buildings are not
yet completed.
There are. of course those who have
fears for the future of the rental market,
as they anticipate that perhaps the market
has already been overbuilt, ana In conse-
onence there will be difficulty in finding
tenants But this is not the general fore
cast of the situation, about which there
is naturally room for some dlfrerence OF
opinion.
Value of Business Property.
In connection with the recent sale by the
American Security and Trust Company OF
the G street portion of It's building to the
new national bank the statement Is MADE
by those who are supposed to know ABOUT
values that the other section OF the building
which fronts on 14th street Is no" iooheu
upon as the most valuable. This estimate
is of course, based solely upon the value
of the ground, and has no reference 10 the
character
statement is true 1t affords striking in
stance of the changes that have taken place
in the last ten years or SO in regard 10 the
values of property in that section OF the
city. More especially are these changes
marked in regard to property on 14th street.
1t is not necessary to go as far back as ten
years to note the advances that have been
made in that particular.
The experience of the trust company with
its property is also a case in point, for
when the company acquired the street lot
for the purpose of erecting It's home the
price paid for it, calculated on the value OF
the ground was about S23 per square foot.
This some fourteen years ago 1t was
not long before there was need for more
room to provide needed facilities for the
business. and then II was decided to con-
tinue the building around the corner. and
SO the lot on which the 18th street wing
now stands was acquired.
A Marked Change.
This latter purchase was made some ten
years ago, and the price paid for the prop
erty was SIS per square foot. The plot OF
ground has substantially the same area as
che one on the G. street frontage, so that
the difference in the per foot price may be
looked upon representing the difference
In the value of property on the two streets
ten and fifteen years ago, which was about
$500.
Now. however II is the opinion that the
portion of the property on 14th street is
worth more than on G street The value
n q street property has not fallen off but
5at on l4th street has come up. IS the ex-
PLANTATION. OF course. there is nothing spe-
Cially novel in this situat ion to those who
have kept in touch with recent movements
in real estate. The business development
of the street during the past two or three
years had been quite remarkable. and has
including the erection of two large office
buildings, the Bond and the Colorado, ana
other changes which have made that section
of the street, especially between + and Ii
nfNn Of
portion OF the city. 1t used to be- and not
so very long ago, that people hesitateu
about opening Office on l4th street as II
was then looked upon as being somewhat
out of the way.
Prices on F Street.
1t is also n noticeable feature of the de-
velopment of the commercial district of the
city that II has gone on, not only without
in1urins the part already established, but
actually has had the effect of enhancing
somewhat values all through this region
This Is illustrated by the circumstance
that at the time when there was something
OF a boom In property along 18th street big
prices were being offered for street cor
ners and inside pieces. During the past
season the record was established for high
figures for business property, as far as Of
fers were concerned.
There were no transactions, IT is true but
that was because the owners declined these
large offers and refused to part with their
holdings even at advanced figures. There
may have been some exaggeration in the
figures that We're talked about as having
been offered for street property but
still making all allowances for that 1t is
evident there has been no decline or falling
away IN the market for property of this
class.
From Residence Uses.
1t is predicted that the movement which
has made such progress already up 14th
street is not going to stop at II street. or
even go straight ahead. but that II will
continue out that thoroughfare and start
for a junction for the business section
which has already made a beginning on the
upper part OF Connecticut avenue. This
will be good news for q great many prop
erty holders. or rather II 10 a cheering
prospect for thay have In most cases