New-York tribune., 1908-11-15

va, than amy other section Of the greater city. In
lao4 ono Of the largest purchasing and building
movements in the history of The Bronx feat
the real estate market and it resulted in the
Transformation Of great areas of vacant land into
trickly populated districts
SUBWAY OPERATIONS ATTRACTED
Tho activities Of many builders, spectators and
investors in that period have frequently been de-
scribed largely I'll planned and poorly carried
out" The subway and other rapid transit projects
which were completed At that time undoubtedly
actuated large numbers of persons who had never
before been identified with the real estate market
~ become prominent in more of the various
branches Of the realty business. Most Of the new
cou.ers become builders of many houses
without determining whether not the struct
which they sought TO erect were needed and
II needed what sites would be the most suitable
There Was so much talk in those days Of fort
1Ines being made quickly from realty investments
in the wide awake and attractive realty zones Of
the borough that many building loan in
d,Ced further the aims OF builders Of this type,
thinking that the period Of newer record values
would continue longer time than It did and
that with Iessening Of The market for uptown
properties there little possibility of any builder
being tied UP with losing realty investment. This
Is q mild way Of describing the attitude or some
building loan toward many persons who at that
time entered the realty market and essayed Join
The ranks Of the big builders
FORGOT BUSINESS RULES.
There is not the slightest doubt that many Of the
building loan men forgot the usual rules Of their
business because the magnitude of the operations
which marked the opening of the subway and the
perfection Of the plans Of such rapid transit projects
as the six-tracking az the New Haven Railroad
had dnnled their view of actual realty conditions.
For years this great building and purChas-
ing movement continued 10 attract widespread at
tcution the various districts OF The Bronx espe
ciaIly the regions known the newer sections.
Early in 907 there noticeable decrease In the
viEor Of the trading throughout The Bronx zones.
and thereafter followed what is called in real
tate circles a period of readjustment- Such times
also referred to wherever real estate men meet
of reckoning. II then that the work
computing the value Of this great building and
purchasing movement throughout the city really
begun. and that time when most Of the real es-
tate leaders who had been in one or more ways con-
uected with the movement began TO things IN
t'lefr right light. II good thing for the real
estate market that period of wonderful
activity rapidly lost its attractireness and its Vigor
in tho early part of 1907.
VALUE OF ACTIVITY MEASURED
i took many months TO determine the exact dis
tricts where activity had been widespread for
two years which weak in building strength.
and where there grave dangers Of hundreds
,,f newcomers in realty fields being oblterated
factors the market by heavy burdens caused by
building loans and other mortgages. The greatest
test the strength Of any district Of the city is
its attractiveness to investors There were few
investors busy in The Bronx in the early days OF
1871 and this proof enough that there
doubt the minds Of the majority of persons who
study real estate conditions whether
the various districts had not been overbuilt, and
overbuilt with poorly constructed houses.
The findings Of such students OF realty revealed
the causes as 10 why investors not present in
large numbers in many of the newer districts of
The Bronx The newly erected houses, except il.
few instances. appeared TO be in little demand
among persons and families seeking homes.
The newer values in The Bronx resulting from the
creation of greater residential zones there made
many rentals for fathouses almost as high in
many more centrally located parts OF the city.
And those rentals not alluring the majority
Of prospective homeseekers, in spite Of the
that many of the districts had been brought, Il
were nearer TO the City Hall. Manhattan, and TO
the downtown and the midtown business districts
by the building OF the subway. Nor did all Of the
builders put up houses which regards con-
strTctiOn. strength floor plans were considered
models.
AIMS OF SOME BUILDERS
The principal aim of many OF the new builders
seemed 10 be the creation Of residential
the lowest possible cost. More fatisouses
too erected In The Bronx than its needs in
those days called for. If the real estate records
carefully examined II Will be seen that most
IF the building loan decided. when that fact
became widely known, lend their best efforts 10
decrease the number of building operations until
the market demanded resumption Of construction
work Of this type
Most OF the building loan men, too, entered Wig
orously the work Of readjustng realty condi-
tions in The Bronx. and scores OF newcomers who
had been carried away by the fever OF realty
speculation which marked the year Of the opening
OF the subway and many months following It were
a factors from the real estate market.
OF course, many Of the newcomers We're financially
strong enough to meet all their obligations and TO
wait patiently for the day when a quick market
would be found for their realty wares.
REALTY CONDITIONS CHANGED.
To attract prospective homeseekers lower rentals
were offered in many districts, and Il was long
before the majority Of houses which built in
1908 1916 1906 in districts OF The Bronx
were well tenanted When the financial depression
occurred in the fall OF 1897 the real estate market
had been through long period Of readjustment
particularly IN the districts north
the Harlem River. That is one of the reasons
that the real estate market a whole IooIned up
rs a tower of remarkable strength in the trying
days of 1907. The history OF realty progress in the
greater city shows that the real estate market
usually receives warning of threatened distress
IN money centres long before the storm of financial
depression breaks
PRESENT NIGOR OF THE BOROUGH
The Bronx long ago emerged from the period Of
readjustrnent, and 1t stards to-day as one OF the
most aIiuring realty fields for the investor and
speculator wall the builder OF any other
region of the greater city with the exception OF the
great West Side. What many builders thtnl or
The Bronx as field Of activity is clearly shown
IN the vast SUMS Of money which have been sci
aside in the last four months improving large
areas OF land there. 1t is along the line OF the
New Haven Railroad where builders are busiest
and where large construction companies are most
active II Is the general opinion in realty circles
that -he New Haven Railroad, which some wears
sgo undertook the work of six-tracking its route
through The Bronx and electrifying all its lines
which traversed suburban and city regions has no
intention of stopping in the Port Morris section of
The Bronx bat will undoubtedly extend its Harlem
River branch 10 the very heart Of Manhattan Isl