The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-18
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET.
REMARKABLE DEALING IN THE
TENEMENT DISTRICTS.

Current Buying Largely Affects Houses
Constructed when Land. Labor and
. Building Material We're CheapeF-How
Cost OF Production Has Risen.
The remarkable dealing in improved
tenement property which now forms 30
conspicuous q feature Of the realty market
represents apparently a reaction from
another phase Of activity which predomi-
mated two or three months ago. A very
great proportion Of the current trading
Affects multifamily houses in districts which
were built up in previous boom periods or
which developed in response to the steady
growth Of the city. These buildings, that
is TO say, were produced either prior to
the enactment Of the existing tenement
house law, which vent into effect in 1901,
or between that time and the beginning
Of the present boom, which has lasted
with more or less uniformity-sinoe the
middle Of 1908.
The current activity in real estate re-
ceived it's greatest impetus at the time OF
the opening Of the subway, in the fall OF
1904. The resultant dealing in vacant
land at the northern end Of Manhattan
Island and In The Bronx attained unprec-
edented volume. b production OF new
tenements exceeded all previous records.
There was an inevitable increase In the
prices Of vacant land In all the areas made
accessible by the new underground road.
The natural appreciation Of land values
because OF the new transit facility was
further augmented BY speculative manipu-
lationl A secondary result Of this was the
transferring Of professional attention back
to the older districts, notably Harlem and
the upper and middle East sides and the
Inauguration Of a Q building campaign
in these districts. Thus at the end of
1905 it was found that this remarkable
CONSTITUTIONAL movement had resulted in
the production OF a number Of multifamily
houses in Manhattan alone sufficient to
accommodate a larger number h that
which had been added to the population OF
the five boroughs OF the city. The, other
boroughs also had been unusually liberal
IN providing residence quarters OF the
same kind.
Throughout the city, and notably In Man
haitian, the new buildings were produced at
the maximum Of cost on land, labor and
material. They now come into direct COM
of 1o0f-05. The older buildings, though in
ferior in some respects, are in many cases
better revenue producers because Of the
lower cost Of their construction. The in
C0dS6 IN T6utS mas, OF COURSE, du6CJeQ Uu0
old buildings as well as the new ones. 1t
has been seriously questioned whether the
high rents for1apartments in both old and
new tenernents can be maintained when the
great numbers Of new buildings nov in
process of construction become available
for use. The fact that accommodations
were provided last year for a tenantry 50
largely in excess of the increase in popula-
ton would seem to indicate lower rents.
On the other hand, the prevailing high cost
of labor and material offers some excuse for
the high schedules Of rents, 1t also empha-
sizes the fact that a compulsory scaling down
Of rentals would be disa strous in neighbor-
hoods where speculation in and and new
tenements has been excessive.
The increase in the cost Of both material
n labor in the past few years has been
quite marked. Some items of material
have more than doubled in cost since 1895.
Others again show a considerable increase
in price over the figures Of even a year ago..
It is practically impossible to STATE with any
degree of accuracy the percentage Of in
creased cost Of construction without going
into a very elaborate comparison Of prices
OF all material, wages. DC, and ascertain
ing the exact proportion that each item
would bear to the whole. Some items in
the age list have increased bet ween rs
and 40 per cent. The following tables show
some CONSPICUOUS increases in the cost of
material and labor;