Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-24
RENTAL DEMAND rs
EXCEEDINGL HEAVY
NUMBER OF AVAILABLE HOUSES
is TOO SMALL
Real Estate Men Predict That Indi-
viduaIs Who Are Holding of for
Cheaper Rents viii Be
Disappointed

If anyone has doubt in his mind about
the large number of tourists in Los An
geles let him call upon the real estate
offices and inquire about the condition
of the rental business. Never in the
history of the city has there been a
demand equal to that which has pre-.
vailed this fall. Where formerly renting
was thought to be only bother and
Improbable it is now considered de-
partment worth while. The improved
methods of listing property and of caring
come to be looked, upon as a boon bv
both parties to the deal.
Nor is the demand confined to any one
class Of houses. Furnished and unfur-
nished are proving too few in number.
At present it is very difficult to find IL
furnished cottage which is really desi--
able. The only way in which applicants
can have their desires satisfied is to place
their names on file or keep up an end
less tour of the offices until some happy
day a desirable house is vacated Prac-
tically the same is true of the unfur-
nished. Fairly reasonable rent and
cleanliness do not permit house to
stand idle long,
moment all summer reports Mines &c
Parish, land this fall we have been
buster than ever. 1t has really become
very serious problem to provide places
for all the people who are coming into
Los Angeles. Those who desire to i'm
prove vacant lots with buildings con-
slider them too valuable to p ace small
houses upon them. The same space will
carry large apartment structure which
is a better income proposition. On the
other hand most people prefer to live in
separate house. And there comes a
conflict which under present conditions
can only end by the applicants going
into the fiat Another feature is the
objection to going out toward the out
skirts of the city,
"Still third disconcerting element is
the objection of owners to tenants VITA
children, a question with two sides.
1.-The call for expensive houses has nor
been so strong. These will be in greater
demand later in the season when the
tourist of leisure begins to arrive.
Business rentals are equally as good,
but in the nature of the case they are
not as, numerous. We have recently
made several important leases of this
character. The casual observer can see
how strong the demand is in this respect
by noticing the rapidity with which the
big new office structures fill up"
Business Houses in Demand
Eyes, the demand Is steady f,r rooms
for business purposes said Taylor Nc
Dougall, manager of Merwin & Co.'S
rental department. Barring a national
catastrophe, Los Angeles has no reason
ever to expect any other condition to
exist With the city already large and
growing larger each day and with the
surrounding country filling up with
ranchers faster than ever before nothing
else can be expected than that it will be
a task to provide accommodations for
the Increased number of business enter
prises made possible by the great pop
ulation.
There seems to be an impression that
rents may come down and many are
holding off for such an event, but these
persons will not realize their expecta-
tions The truth of the matter is whea
you get right down to hard and fast
statement these same individuals ac-
knowledge that their hope is very slight.
They know how unprecedented the sit
uation is.
"our chief difficulty is to secure rooms
for our clients in the congested district
which are suited to many important lines
of business, but this condition is being
righted by the erection of the large busi-
ness blocks"
Merwin & Co. have recently made the
following rentals: For Mrs. Mary Schehr
to Mrs. Viola Dinsmore a 66-room apart
ment house at Eighth and Carondelet
streets for a period of ten years at a
gross rental of $4,000; one-third of the
C. c. Chapman warehouse on East Third
street for gross rental of $4,000, COW
ering five years; 553 South Spring street
to the Peck-Judah company and the Bal
loon Route Excursion company for
period of four years, gross rental $4,000
and the major part of the building at
226-230 East First street at the gross
rental of $4,000.
Edward D. Silent & Co. make similar
report I'VE are unable to answer the
call satisfactorily We have some trou-
BILE to get newcomers to see the attrac-
tiveness of many portions of the CITY,
Many come with preconceived notions
about where they desire to live. attrib-
utable no doubt to the reports about the
directions of the city's growth they re-
ceived in the east.
"No, there will be no reduction of
rental figures. Los Angeles will be more
likely to see them go the other way.
especially in business property. The big
sale of ranch land now on means more
business and more business houses. and
that means the maintenance of present
rates and quite likely an advance.p
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