Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-11-04

IF you will take the trouble to look
up some of the transfers of real estate
along about in 1890, you will find that
the average price of good farm land
was about eight and ten dollars an
acre. Take look over the same rec
ord now, and you will see where lands
are going at $25, $50, $40 and even $50
an acre, and in some cases they arc
the very same lands. l myself have, in
several instances had the very salts
factory experience of selling the same
land to three or four different pur-
chasers, beginning at SO or $12 an
acre, and making the last transfer at
from $35 to $40 an acre.
And got your commission every
time?"
Sure.
why, there was one case l could
tell you about where young man who
had bought a farm on credit, and be-
coming discouraged because he fear
ed he could never pay out; came and
asked me to sell for him. l took it up,
advertised the property, hunted around
among people l knew were looking for
good places to invest and sold the land
at good profit. Then in little while
the same man asked me to get him an
other farm in a different neighborhood.
1t was not great while before 1 sue
ceeded. He took the place, went on
It, made a good crop, and I am now
trying to get him to take a cash offer
that will net him $4,000 profit.
About year ago | had an option
on pretty good sized farm a few
miles east Of Yorkville at $25 an acre.
l had about made up my mind to buy
1t myself; but for some reason let the
option expire. A few weeks afterward
another man bought the place at $50
and then turned 1t over to me to sell
for him. 1 cut the place up into sew
eral tracts, and sold them in a little
while. Only few days ago tried to
get the man who bought one of the
tracts at $3.50 to re-list it with me at
$40 and he would not think of the
proposition"
But it takes these North Carolina
fellows to realize how cheap York
county lands are. Land values are
generally higher with them just over
the line, and when they come down
here and see our lands, often better
than theirs at ridiculously low prices,
they pounce down like duck on a
Junebug. / had a four hundred acre
tract that had been listed with me at
SIS. 1t is worth $25 If it is worth any
thing at all. I couldn't get the people
In the neighborhood to hardly look at
1t. I think they figured that l would
have difficulty finding a purchaser and
they would get 1t cheaper. 1 went to
North Carolina, got man there to come
and see it, and he snapped it up the
same as If 1t were $2.9S offering at a
bargain sale. And he has made several
thousand dollars by the transaction. I
have no idea that he would sell right
now for profit of S. an acre
THE Mount Gallant property over
near Rock Hill sold a few years ago
for 500 an acre, and / was informed
the other day that only last week a
few gentlemen who thought they had
good thing 1t it, paid upward of $50
an acre, or something like $2S,000 for
it."
What do you think" Mr.. Wilborn
was asked, "of the trend of sentiment
as to real estate values. Do you think
that there is anything like a general
appreciation Of the fact that the price
OF land Is constantly on the up grade
and that there is something solid and
substantial behind the increase in val
ues?"
ITO answer that question fully" Mr..
Wilborn replied, "it would be neces-
sary to cover a good deal of ground,
but briefly l would say yes, in spots
There are good many shrewd invest
ors all throughout this section who
see very clearly that judicious invest
ment in farm lands offer more promise
Of returns than anything else; but
their policy Is to proceed cautiously
for fear Of putting prices on a jump
before they get what they want. AS a
rule they do not preach the gospel of
probable higher values. They are
more inclined to argue that the ad-
vance in the prices of farm lands has
been abnormal, and that there must be
a reaction, which they profess to fear.
But upon the whole I think the opinion
that prices are not going to be any
lower in this country, barring some
terrible calamity is very general. You
will find very few sure enough busi-
ness men who are really afraid of a
real estate investment. They are slow
to buy sometimes, because they think
they may be able to get the property a
few dollars cheaper; but they are al
ways slower to sell, even when you Of
fer them a price that they may have
expressed themselves as being willing
to take"
There used to be a tendency on the
part of a great many people to try to
beat you real estate people out Of your
commissions, how about that?" Mr..
Wilborn was asked.
oh, there is some of that yet, of
couse, as there will always be; but
most of that. think came from fall
ure to realize that it takes labor, ex-
perience, judgment and expense to
keep up the real estate situation. Peo-
pie had a feeling that our compensa-
tion was in the nature Of pickup, and
sometimes there was reluctance to pay
for our services. But there Is less Of
that now. Most people know that l
can handle a transfer of property for
them better than they can themselves,
more especially If they have not had a
great deal of experience, and it Is as
common now for people to commission
me to buy as it formerly was for them
to commission me to sell. But believe
it or not as you like, we come pretty
nearly earning all the commissions we
get"
LOCAL LACONlCS.