New-York tribune., 1907-09-15
A DULL REALTY WEEK.
FEW BIG DEALS MADE.
Mann Successful auction Sales Held
This Year.


,at;-e sections of the city. The sale of the
Charles T. Cook house at the southwest corner
of 4Sth St and 9th ave. for about Soloooo 10
Colonel Robert NJ. Thompson, through Whlte-
house & Porter and Chambers Il VeiLer ana
the finding of q buyer for No 2oo west fzo ST.
the old home of John G. Brown. the well known
artist were features Of the trading OF the week
II was also reported In the week that the vast
ho,d,ngs of the Albert J. Adams estate would
nrobabIv be sold at auction IN the near future
by Bryan L. Kennedy. The sale of the prop
ertv is likely to be held in October. This an
nounceuent clearly indicates what such q sue
cessful real estate broker and auctfOneer as
Mr. Kennedy thinks oe realty conditions ABOUT
ei::hteen months before his death Adams sold
at auction through Mr.. Kennedy about twenty
four parcels, for which 1892, 700 was paid That
was one Of the largest and most successful sales
at auction of Manhattan property ever held In
this city The remaining unsold parcels OF the
Adams estate comprise many attractive invest
ment properties in the midtown sections, espe-
ciav in or near the Pennsylvania district. where
values to-day are many times greater than they
were two years ego.
If there was the slightest doubt that an ex-
ceIlent market could be found for choice IN
vestment or speculative properties at auction
specuators and investors would certainly not be
given an opportunity to take over these parcels
at this time. A weak market for fine investment
and speculative parcels would nothing
more nor less than sacrifice or unsatisfactory
prices. At every big auction sale of Manhattan
or Bronx property this year the bidding was
spIrited and the total sum OF the sales was much
GREATER than the amount the expert appraisers
expected would be paid for the properties Even
when trading IN the private sales market this
year has been practically at n standstlH the
brightest features of realty operations have been
the good results obtained in the Fesey street
salesrooms In the auction rooms the majority
Of parcels offered are sold absolutely without re-
serve. or. In other words to the highest bidder
Moreover an announcement that parcel VIII
he withdrawn II It does not bring certain price
"a ALWAYS made before such parce! Is oHereu
for sale, so that in the auction rooms ouSi'ieSS
O.. .roreacted in a very straightforward way as
a. sbo,,1d be That is why. summer or winter
,ear after wear the auction rooms are crowded
every sales day. The auctioneers nave the CON
adence of the public and the public SHOWS Ohat
.. t.s NOT q doubt that It will get a square deal
In the auction rooms by unhesltauhsy ouS1iis
,bars when II declines to buy at private sale
often this year successful bidders have told
the auctioneers that they had not inspected '.Ie
nroperty that they had bought, relying entirely
ON the word of the auctioneers as 70 the lay
o1 the land sold or TO the description OF the
building offered and its earning power as told py
the auctioneer. At the great Ogden sale OF lots
among the successful bidders was q woman VINO
got four or five parcels Of the tract ana there
was unusually spirited bidding for every one OF
the parcels which she bought. AFTER the saie 'io
aurtioneer hastened from the stand 70 "Tere IIlo
woman sat TO congratulate her on being sue
,assfuI bidder Replying a question as to
what she thought OF the property. she saio thhe
she had never visited the tract. but had oased
h.r on,nion about the future outlook for the
tract from the vast throng OF persons present at
the sale the eagerness OF those present TO buy
and what the auctioneer had said about the
present realty conditions in the section ana "Ia'
he thought the future held in store for H. was
NOT that a revelation OF implicit trust In the
word OF an auctioneer? Yet such revelations
ora of fraouent occurrence and are constant
incentive for the auctoneers TO make the ouy-
ing Of nroperty ut auction more attractive and
easie- 70 the beginner in the real estate field.
os y,e1l az 10 the experienced operator. specula-
tor builder and investor.
The public long ago learned that the big realty
cor,nantes and SPECTATORS conduct their busi-
! ness or operations the policy of quick sales
and quick profits. For instance one OF the large
/ realty companies buys large vacant tract Oh
land II quickly lays out streets through the
! tract nuts water mains and sewers through the
! premises and. in fact makes the premises ready
4 the speculative builder or Ihe sIiidiI Hoile-
seeker 1t then offers the tract for sale at
auction on easy terms Before buying the prop
| erty the big company carefully studied the
question as to the probable enhancement of
values I'm the section If realty conditions in the
/ district indicat ted that the outlook there was
unpromsing the company would not nave pur-
/ chased the property the purchase OF the tract
tells the public that the prospect for realty
activity in the section in the future is good.
/ if not excellent.
Sometimes the Judgment or the big purchaS-
ine, companv is poor for vatious conditions later
arise which obliterates the market for their
realty holdings unless they willing TO sell
their property at less than they paid for 1t.
Under such circumstances they are usually will
ing to suffer a loss. Had the large vacant tract
remained unsold until bought directly from the
original owner by little buyers it would take a
long time for the city to build up and spread
ont as in these operations the little buyer is not
destined to be q leader, but q follower. 1t Is
only when little buyer unites his financial
power with that of other small buyers in a well
organized realty company that he is able to lead
and need not follow Occasionally the estates
holding vast tracts of vacant land OF improved
property offer their properties at auction. and
at those sales little and big buyers meet on
terms as nearly equal as they ever can. One of
those occasions will be when the holdings of the
! Adams estate are offered for sale to the high
! est bidders For the little buyer the safest form
! of investment Is a choice improved parcel In an
! active section. There is no doubt as to the
earning power of the property, and, moreover,
the prospect that the property will increase in
value is much greater than for parcels in the
dormant districts Of the city.
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