The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-20
THE REAL ESTATE MARKET
BIG WEEK IN THE MIDTOVN
BUSINESS DISTRICT.

Trading VA Immensely Active All the
Way From Fourteenth to Fftieth
Street Between Fourth and Eighth
Acknowledgement Avenues Future.
The real estate market made an I'M
commonly good showing last week for
this season OF the year. Tit trading was
widely distributed and affected a great
variety Of property. The activity was
most notable, however. in the midtown
district. For the first time in a long
while several downtown Office buildings
figured in a single weeks brokerage news.
Uptown, on Washington Heights and par
ticularly in the Riverside Drive neighbor-
hood a number Of valuable plots were
bought for improvement with fireproof
elevator apartment houses.
There was a good demand for private
dwellings both in the fashionable East
Side residence quarter and on the West
Side. There was also a substantial
volume OF miscellaneous business in flats
and tenements, but the leading feature OF
the weeks market was an extra ordlnary
number and variety of transactions in the
section bounded roughly by Fourteenth
and Fiftieth streets and Fourth and Eighth
avenues,
Although the section is large enough
TO be influenced in its various parts by
special local factors 1t is nevertheless
homogeneous enough to be under the
influence OF one general factor. which
is a redistribution OF retail and whole
sale trade induced by the erection OF a
! new traffic centre at Greeley Square, and
of new crosstown traffic routes by the
tunnels from New Jersey and Long Island.
The redistribution has Of course been
in progress for some time, but for upward
of a couple of years it has not been so
active as it is just now.
A number Of purchases made laht
week were by business houses INC private
investors, but the bulk OF these were
Of "A purely speculative nature. As a
result Of last weeks purchases a good
deal Of capital will be expended in new
construction work and a considerable
body Of mechanics will find employment
during the summer Besides not a few
holdings of high price realty will he taken
out Of the market for a period in antici-
patton Of a rise in values.
\ typical transaction Of the latter sort
wac liz IA Vi Tx ~ iii
ings Bank site at Broadway and Thirty
second street by English capitalists at
1915 a square foot, now the high record
price in this town outside the financial
district. The property has shown an
advance in value Of $500. 900 in the last
three years. The site isof course unique
and the buyers are no doubt Of the opin-
ion that IL will be worth a new high record
price when the PENNSYLVANIA and McAdoo
tunnels begin 10 land passengers at Greeley
Square.
The announcement that an offer has
been made for the tri thorough subway
route was a matter Of the first Importance
10 real estate interests. In Manhattan
it will no doubt have the imm ediate effect
of bringing to a head the desultory buy
ing that has been under way in and near
Lexington avenue 1t is altogether likely
that a subway in Lexington avenue will
cause a widespread activity on the Fast
Side, particularly east OF Central Park.
At present there are hundreds Of old
style fats between Third and Park avenues
which bring only a moderate return
at 81 a room a month. These more or
less a~ntiquated houses are beginning to
leel the composition Of elevator apart
erected expressly TO rent at tho same
price. With a subway in Lexington
avenue there would be every Involvement
TO tear down these old FIVE story brick
houses on the middle East Side and re-
place them with modern high class ele-
vator apartment buildings.
Still anUther matter Of interest to real
estate owners was contained in this state
ment by the Lawyers Title Insurance
and Trust Company: Heretofore the
custom has been, except In rare cases.
TO insure only against latent defects
in real estate titles-thoee that could
not be found in the course OF a careful
| ooo rNh-anl MT To tro,tra NJ anx, rr;~a
a title which a careful examiner would
reject. no matter how slight the defect
might be. The prevailing charges for
title insurance have been so low as not
TO furnish sufficient indemnity for the
other kind OF insurance, and yet the
company has fully realized that a demand
Tor 1t existed.
The management Of the Lawyers
Title Insurance and, Trust Company will
now meet this demand in all proper cases
and has concluded that title insurance
can thus be extended safely and to the
great advantase Of the oompany's pa;
premiums against known defects which
In its judgment are Of slight importance
or depend upo remote contingencies, or
which can be disposed Of or cured, and
believing that its clients and the general
suranoe IL is 10Y ready to issue such
policies,
The chara cter OF these risks and the
terms upon which they will be insured
will be determined by a special com
mittee consisting OF the president, vice.
president, counsel, solicitor and attorney
Of the company. the gentlemen now
filing these offices being respectively
Edwin W. ~Coggeshall. Louis V. Bright,
David B. Ogden. George D. l.. HARRISON
and Philip s, Dean.
The special premiums for such policies
will be based upon the circumstances
Of each case and will be as low as the
risks and adequate indemnity TO the
company will allow. The company will