Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-08
RECORD-MiKINGY YEAR
Number of Transfers of Prop
erty in the District.
GREAT VOLUME OF BUSINESS
Increase in Population Creates Great
er Demand for Homes.
THE SUBDIVISIONS FORMED
Character of the Improvements and
Quality of the Boom-Sta-
tistics Given.
GREAT VOLUME OF BUSINESS
THE SUBDIVISIONS FORMED

The records Of real estate transactions in
| the District of Columbia during the past
| year have exceeded the number of trans
| fers of property in every similar period
| In the history of the capital Very
| rapidly the District of Columbia, with it's
| sixty square miles is becoming one city
| Even beyond the District limits the work
| of settlement is going on at an enormously
| rapid rate.
While the population of the District, ac-
cording to census returns. has for very
many years been increasing at the rate of
2 per cent only. and while in some local.
ties the increase has far exceeded that
| amount, yet the growth has been steady
and has been made UP of a class of people
| who have added more to the material wei
| fare of the city than is usual in a manu-
featuring community.
Many people express surprise that so
| many houses are built annually and read
! lily find occupants There is heard on the
| part of others warning that building must
cease; that the town is being overbult
| that there are too many dwellings, and
apartment houses. But these prophets of
| disaster overlooked the fact that every
year, at the present rate of increase of the
population, 5000 people are added to the
! denizens OF the city,. Averaging families
| with about five persons each, this increase
| in population makes necessary an increase
| of about loo homes. Unless that number
| of domiciIes are added to the city's store
| there would be an actual curtailment of
/ the number of places in which homes could
| be established.
Adds to Demand for Houses.
! Not only does the Increase of population
| add to the demand for houses and fats
| but the prosperity of the times is also re-
| garded by real estate men as being very
potent influence in this same direction.
| Prosperity continued over a number of
| years. as Is the case at the present time,
| has resulted in very many people accumu-
| lating funds which are available for the
| purchase of homes, and families that have
! been contented to occupy few rooms have
| In that way branched ont into more spa
I clouS quarters. Real estate men who re-
| member the panic of 1898 recall the ten
| dency when men were out of employment
| toward doubling up in houses In that way
| an enormous number of dwellings were left
| Idle The tendency for several years, which
| has never been greater than at the pres
| ent time, has been in exactly the opposite
! direction. Not only have people been en-
abled to purchase homes by means of their
| accumulated savings, but because Of the
| favorable outlook for future employment
| they have also to go ahead and involve
themselves in reasonable amount OF debt
This hopeful feeling Is regarded as hav-
ing much to do with the present buoyancy
of the real estate market in this city. Many
people who are unable to purchase a home
at once are going into the suburbs and ac-
curing lots on which they hope at some
future time to build.
Improvements in Northwest.
In the northwest suburban section the
improvements that have taken place during
the past year are very great During
twelve months In this section of the Dis
trict there have been thirteen subdivisions
of land Of considerable size, and MANY
more are now in contemplation. This rep
resents acreage property bought up by In
dIyiduals or syndicates, subdfvided and
placed on the market. Last year the num-
Der of subdivisions in the same section
was nine. The result Is an Increase of 80
per cent. The office of the Engineer Com
missioner of the District realizes quite as
fully as any OF the sales agencies what
activity Is going In this respect
II has been necessary during the past
year to go still further into the country
IN order to secure acreage property, and
The time is not far distant when there will
be nothing left for further subdivision
Along all the car lines leading from the citv
into the northwest there have been con-
slant improvements, and only within the
past year mas II been possible for the Capt.
tai Traction Company to make MANS for
the extension of its 14th street line a
couple of miles beyond Mt Pleasant fts
present northern terminus This axtancIop
marks, one of the most important real es-
tate developments of the year as II makes
possible the occupation of vast area of
country by people who cannot go beyond
the limits Of concenent travel
1t will not only mean an extension of the
service to the nOrthward but It will also
result in an Improvement of the servIca
along that entire line. as the facilities
for turning cars at the end of the line will
"A hos :
pany now has at Mt. Pleasant and will
permit 1t to place upon its 14th street road
more cars than are now run for the accom-
mediation Of the public
Increase In Traffic.
The increased traffic along the Connec-
tlcut avenue line has also made II nossi-
BILE to give a more frequent schedule
which has resulted in improving condi-
tions at all the subdivisions between Rock
creek and Chevy Chase. The Tenlevtown
road has also made improvements in it's
schedule, as have other lines reaching into
the desirable suburban sections of the
northwest i'
Real estate men point to these improved
conditions, together with many others. as
giving a reason for advances in value of
land in those sections beyond the mere
settling up of the country and speculative
influences. They say that in many re-
spects the increase in land values merely
represents the increase in improvements
In recent years the control of the Dis
trtct government over subdivisions has
been very greatly increased, so that for
some years no subdivision could be made
unless in conformity with the plan laid
out by the Commissioners, which In turn
conforms to the general plan of the city.
Even in the matter of grading a subdi-
vision the Commissioners have authority
to indicate how that work shall be done.
Previously subdivisions were graded, as
they were laid out, merely according to
the within of the owner, and an immense
amount of misfit subdivisions were laid
down on the map to make trouble for the
future
The police and fire protection of this sec
ton of the District has also been improved.
A new police station has been established
during the year at Tenleytown and another
on Whitney avenue. and the police system
in both of these sections has been perfected
far beyond what was possible previously.