The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-01-27
REAL ESTATE AND
BUILDING NEWS.
Most Of the Business in Real
Estate Being Done in
Secret.
AGENTS REASONS GIVEN OUT
Much Building in Prospect.
Burned District Must Be Re
built at Once.

Tho past week has witnessed con-
siderable activity in real estate, and
e. number of.,impostaht,ssde deals - have,
either been made or brought very near
TO the closing point. but all of these
deals that have been made or that are
nearing completion haze been private
transaction, made behind doors that are
not open to newspaper men. There Is
n growing tenuency TO secrecy in the
real estate business. and the agents
who engineer private deals are careful
TO keep them as private as possible.
a prominent rea iestate agent who
has his office on Main Street, ventured
TO talk to a newspaper man yesterday.
and tried 10 explain the disposition of
the ground buyers and sellers to keep
their affairs more secret than has been
the rule. Said he: When there is
something like boom on we are all
anxious enough to have the newspapers
find out everything that is going on
but when we getaright down to con-
servatiSe businessand when margins
are rather close and altogether on con-
servative lines we dread the news
paper man and his Interrogation point.
] could give number of instances
wherein just few lines in the papers
have Knocked good trades all to
pieces.
ITO illustrate: Suppose sell q lot away
out yonder on u Street, and by my ability
as a lecturer on real estate succeed IN
getting a pretty good figure for my con-
stituent, and the facts and the figures
get into the papers Then every man and
woman who may happen to own property
on all the streets from up to q at once
think their property has greatly enhanced
in value, and up go their demands and
figures They mark their prices up to a
point that we find 1t simply impossible
to make sales IN that territory Thus,
you see, when we make a good sale, we
are afraid to tell YOU about it.
In concluding his little stump speech,
this agent said:
II have made some very good sales
this week. but dare not tell about them
for the reasons that have already
given
Builders Are Busy.
The contractors and builders are as
busy as they!can be, and they see a great
deal of work on ahead. Already the
owners of the property that was burned
last week are making their plans to re-
build as soon as possible. and contractors
have been asked to figure on the replacing
OF the houses that have gone up in ashes
A rumor is afloat that the Williams
nroperty4 at Ninth and Cary Streets,
may be diverted to very different pur-
poses, and that corner may become a
great manufacturing centre. An archi-
tect and aabuilder' have been consulted,
so the report goes, with. view OF
replacing the burned building with a
SKIS story house that may be the nome
of q manufacturing concern that VIII
give employment to large number or
men and not q few women. Just what
will be the nature of.the enterprise the
real estate man who gave the above
Information was not willing to.divulga,
but six-story building on such a big
lot would hold a large number of wage
earners
More Houses Wanted.
The, largest real estate deal during
the week.-mrs. the purchase of the HAM
cock tobacco factory property. on
Twenty-second Street, by the Surbrugs
an account of which deal. is given in
another&column.v n e~t--'- tt-vy' y
The Richmond Foundry and Manu-
featuring Company has about completed
their plant In the West End and wall
begin operations there this week
The manager of the concern says he Is
exnerlencng some troubej+in securing
homes for the one hundred or, more
skilled tworllnen the establishment will
need on3the opening day, There is no
trouble in getting these skilled workmen
from Northern and Western cities, IL they
can find houses in which to live with
their families when they come to Rich
mond: but the scarcity Of such. houses Is
giving the company no little trouble Tic
sxnressed tho opinion that u hundred
4 it,,ta M ntyoN