The Washington herald., 1909-06-23
BY FREDERIC }. HAsKIx.

/ The national associations OF real estate
men meet in Detroit to-day for the con
sideration OF problems which confront
the dealer IN Mother Earth. One Of these
Is that OF how 60 sell One might con-
clude. after reading the advertisements
which appear every day in this paper,
that the problem had been solved. But
the real estate man wants still further
TO improve He is after business. and
the more he gets the more he wants.
So he has gone 10 Detroit 10 undergo a
careful intrOspection IN order that he may
discover just where and what are his
shortcomings The sale OF property on
the installment plan will be carefully con
sidered. as we'll as the hundle and
one other questions which relate 70 the
successful management real estate
| business.
| Uncle sam is a pretty nifty owner OF
real estate. In fact. his holdings OF real
/ ~ are greater in value than the entire
wealth of any other nation. When the
! Census Bureau experts took stock of HIS
realty holdings in 1905. they found their
aggregate value 10 be more than $4,000 p
/ 000. 600 That Is approximately equal 20
the aggregate wealth of John Bull II
is more than the total wealth of France,
and greater than that Of Germany II is
nearly double the total wealth OF Russia.
and equal to that OF all the rest of
Europe taken together. If a ratio of
growth Of realty values has been as
great since 1904 as IL was from 1900 10
! 1904, the forthcoming census will place
/ the total value IN 1910 at something like
| So, 900 0O0.0 900. The same ratio would
make the total wealth OF the nation at
] e 4 % H.l4l 8san
Four dollars a square inch stands as
the worlds record price for real estate,
It was made in New York few years
| ago, when a plot Of ground IN Wall
street sold for S5OO a square foot
The principal cities Of the United
| States show remarkable growth OF as
sessed land values in the two-year period
Of 1s06-0S New York leads with an in
| crease amounting 20 SsS3.s0S.5H Chicago
! comes next with an increase amounting
/ 10 S256 Gas. .155 other cities follow in the
order named: Pittsburg. having increased
/ her area from twenty-nine square miles
10 about forty square miles S243, ,N2o,2l9'
St Louis Se1-549.99j; Cleveland. Si2.i5S.sD;
! Philadelphia. 81. 30, 40: Baltimore, 500
! 525, ,e5S; Boston. $40 AZ. 600; Detroit. so -
| O5S. 80. Buffalo. 81 .5T.205. II is claimed
that no foreign city In the world shows
such rapid increase IN land values as
| Is shown by some in the foregoing Est.
/ II was long thought that the skyscraper
got the drop on the little building by its
side. injuring its value, as IL was over
lowered. But real estate men know the
/ opposite 20 be true The menace OF the
little building being replaced by sky
scraper is always present in the mind Of
the skyscraper owner. and usually the
owner OF the little building names his
own price when ne gets ready 10 sell In
some instances where there are two high
/ buildings 10 be erected on either side OF
low one. the capitalists financing the
two viii pool interests and acquire the
/ low structure. holding IL in perpetuity 20
prevent the erection Of high building on
its site. II is said that there are many
instances where the razing OF a little
building adjacent 20 a skyscraper and the
erection OF a tall building thereon would
serve 70 cut down the earning capacity
OF the skyscraper at least a third. owing
u the cutting OF OF light and air
New York. OF course. affords the best
example OF the growth OF realty values.
and IN that particular leads the world.
The recent probating OF the VIII Of Mary
c. Pinkney IN that city IS a shining in
stance Of the fortunes that have been
made there. In 1896 the price paid for the
John Delaney farm was az the rate OF
/ 81 .562 per city block To-day II is worth
/ $4,000 per block. The Pinkney estate.
only a remaining portion Of that farm,
q l.lnf
tor had a partner when he started into
the real estate business The partner
bought land down close TO the battery
and held Il: Astor bought and sold over
and over again, buying ahead OF the
march Of progress and selling in its wake.
Each made his millions. but Astor made
ten million where HIS partner made one
million.
The purchase OF land for the establish
ment Of parks is regarded by some as an
unwise expenditure OF public funds. But
entirely aside from the incalculable bene-
fits derived from the creation Of these
breathing places. parks represent good
investments Central Park, New York.
cost the city, together with the improve
ments put on II. 81, 600 600. Yet realty men
say that n the city should decide to close
out its holdings in Central Park 500 90 000
could be realized theretrOm In every other
city Of the country the same principle
obtains
Sometimes the spirit Of speculation
changes the entire trend OF a city's
growth. Nowhere else in the world is this
better exemplihed than In Washington.
There Is no section Of the National Capt.
tai more admirably situated for residen-
tial purposes than Capitol Hill The