The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-08-16
THEY'RE BUSY MEN
Topeka Real Estate Agents Have
TO Hustle.
Can Hardly Keep Up With De-
mand for Property.
PUSHED FARTHER OUT.
Additions Are Now Filling Up
Rapidly.
People Can't Get Inside Proper
ty and Take Other.
PUSHED FARTHER OUT.

Il The indications are that unless the
/ real estate business takes a serious
H slump before the close of the season,
i the dealers win be out of something to
sell, barter and exchange. New resi-
/ dents are making steady inroads upon
the available city property. There is a
II steady and ever increasing demand for
any kind of residence property, and va
cant lots are getting very scarce. The
time is rapidly approaching when new
residents who desire to build houses to
suit themselves, will either pay street
car fare each day or buy old property
and tear down the house. The present
Il conditions are a godsend to the boosters
/ of suburban property and the official
i openers of new additions.
4 A few years ago, the resident consid-
| cred anything over ten blocks from the
! business center "out on the farm" Now,
with the choice inside lots taken UP and
set with substantial buildings, the pros
| pective purchaser takes the suburban
1 lot and, like the dude who was intirni-
/ dated by the Bowery restaurant waiter,
/ they like it."
It is the experience of all the city real
estate dealers that the prospective pur-
chaser drops in with a few thousand
and demands a certain front, stylish
neighborhood, corner locat ton ct cetera,
and has a fit when shown a meagre list
of inside vacant lots with the price at
tached. He then goes the rounds of all
the real estate Offices with the same
result, and probably comes back to No.
I and purchases a suburban place and
is mighty glad to get 1t.
For city of its area and population,
Topeka is about as well filled as any
TO be found, and it Is certainly building
onto the edges. There is no wildcat
boom or wild stampede The growth is
| steady, sure, and lasting. Rental pro-
perty Is eagerly sought by investors,
and rents are so sure and easy that pro-
perty holders think two or three times
before releasing at any price within
reason.
Farmers who have spent the best end
of their span making a fortune out Of
the soil. frequently experience a wild
desire to get onto the pavement and
adjacent to the modern conveniences for
the balance Of their lives. This class of
people make excellent citizens and are
a credit to any city. Numerous speci- |
mems of the has-been farmer are loaf !
ing around town at present with view
of making it their permanent home.
They win come in thicker this fall. and
take interest in politics or the educa-
ton Of their children. Topeka is first
class educa tional town, and the state at
decided numerous farmers who were
only waiting for a good excuse to move
their families INFO the range of these
conveniences.
Big Business This Fall.
Therefore the real estate dealers are |
expecting a good business this fall. OPP
tions on city real estate are harder to
secure than in days of old, and the
prices are rising, but the demand is
steadily increasing.
A few of the leading real estate deal |
ers were interviewed today, and al
though they admitted that the extreme /
hot weather was holding back their |
trade, they were unanimous in the be-
lief that the coming fall would witness /
a large increase in real estate transfers. /
Mr.. S. Barnes, of the Barnes Real |
Estate company, said:
THE hot weather is interfering to a |
certain extent. 1t is hard to get pur-
chaser to go out in the sun long
enough to view a property. There are /
plenty of 'snap-hunIers who want !
property which will clear 10 per cent [
in rents, and it is no easy matter to get |
what they want. The small properties |
with modern houses are being taken |
up by people who want them for
homes, and have no desire to sell. |
There is a demand for all kinds of city |
property, and the seller has no diff
ficulty in finding a taker at a good |
price.
Mr.. W. NJ. Forbes: 1.-THE time is
rapidly approaching when residents
Will have to give up their daily nickel /
In a town the size of this, with the |
natural and healthy growth it is eX-
periencing, they cannot expect to get |
cheap homes within few blocks of |
the business district. 1t is my belief I
that the few inside lots will be taken /
up within a short time, and that old
houses will be torn down or rebuilt
within the old district. People want
modern houses. and usually prefer to
build them after plans of their own.
1.-THE list of inside lots is very small, /
and growing smaller daily. Ride down
any of the residence streets within a
dozen blocks of the business center /
and you will find the lots which were
vacant two or three years ago occupied
by modern dwellings. This growth has
been quiet but steady, and although
having nothing of the appearance of
boom. has reduced the number Of
vacant building sites to few which
are carefully watched by the real
estate dealers It means the future of
Highland Park and other suburbs"
Mr.. F. F. Barnes. of the Partnership
Real Estate company: THE outlook
for investment property IS better than
ever. Rental property is eagerly
sought after by investors who realize
that it is a good business proposition
and 4 sure interest getter. The kind
of property generally sought after is
scarce. and growing scarcer each day
The on1v solution is to build on and
extend the city limits
MANY people who have sold west
ern land are coming here to live on
account of the advantages of the To-
peka schools. The increase in popula-
ton does not show much on the sur
face. but it is sure and steady An in
crease in population means plenty Of
business for real estate -dealers-if they
can find anything to sell"
Mr. A. E Strauss, Of the Strauss
agency: ssI cannot complain. OF
course July and August are dull
months but thew have been much bet
ter this year than usual. The real
estate business is steadily increasing In
Topeka and the available property is
decreasing at the same pace. What
we need now are street car facilities for
opening new suburban tracts. People
are beginning to realize that they can't
get a house and lot in the heart of the
city without paying what it Is worth.
The day of CHEAP inside property is
over excert in few instances where