The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-25
REAL ESTATE AND
BUILDING NEWS
Closing Days Of an Ac-
tive Year LeaveAgents
in Good Trim.
PROSPECTS GOOD
FOR THE NEW YEAR
Richmond Home Builders Look
ing More to Architectural
Beauty-New Year Will Wit
ness Real Building Boom.
Money Makers Become
Home Makers.

The real estate men rarely ever at
tempt to do any business the last two
Or three weeks in the year. During
those weeks they busy themselves
balancing up books. clearing desks and
making good ready for the new year
This year has been a fairly prosperous
one with all of the agents or nearly
all of them, and they seem to have
been satisfied the past week to work
on their books and get ready for
Merry Christmas and happy New
Year" For these reasons they did not
try TO do much business, only such as
was forced upon them. Considerable
sales were made, however, mainly OF
residential and suburban property.
The big deal of business property
on Eighth Street, which has already
been noted. took on It's finishing
touches the past week Ny the recorda-
ton OF deeds. However. this deal In
yolvlng something like $4,000, had
long been on the string. and. after all,
was largely in the nature Of swapping
and trading but ali the same 1t made
quite show on the books and helped
out commission accounts and court
clerks fees not a little.
Looking TO New Year.
Tie crisp December air IS full of big
rumors about transactions that got on
the string in the closing hours OF the
old year and are liable to fall of in
the contamination basket early in the
new year. These rumors. some of
which. the most OF which. in fact
seem 10 be well founded. hint at nu-
merous new buildings. some OF which
are on tho sky-scraplng order and
some are about magnificent private
residences to be erected within the city
limits and out in the suburbs by Wig
orous business men who have done
we'll in these flush times OF good bust
ness and in this money making era.
A little inquiry among the architects
and plan drawers reveals the fact that
every Richmond man who contemplates
building, whether for business or for
a residence is looking for the best TO
be had, and is making a close investi-
CATION OF the latest things to be had
IN the way of building. This is a
good sign OF the times. A critic who
recently Visited Richmond gave 1t as
his opinion that Richmond folks did
not give altogether as much attention
to appearances in the matter of
home-bnilding as they might. He
thought they looked too much 10 COM
fort and too little to appearances. He
also thought the two ideas .atht be
combined to Richmond's good. Anyhow.
the demands on the time and attention
of the architects for thA SaSt month
or more nd'cate that, beginning with
the new year, there is going TO be a
whole lot of building IN and about this
good old town. and 1t Is likely that
large percentage of the new resi-
dences to go up on the fashionable
avenues and out IN the suburbs will
be of the most modern type.
Farms In Demand.
The agents who handle country
property, who ell farms, great and
small. tell me that they have more
urgent and energetic inquiry from out
of-State people. Many good Virginia
farms have been sold recently to folks
from the frozen North and the biz
gard cursed West, and the inquiries in
the hands OF the agents who have this
class OF property to sell would seem to
Indicate that In the early days of tho
new year there Will be much larger
sales and good many more of them.
The average suburbanite is hard 10
down, and the men who sell this class
OF property kept busy right up to the
holiday hour. President Funston, OF the
Ginter Park Company. tells me that he
made sales right up TO Saturday morn
ing, and he also says that at least
four of the late purchasers of lots out
there have already contracted for
ers can get busy.
The Westhampton folks tell me they
have had fairly good business con-
sidering the rushing on of the holiday
season. a half a dozen lots sold near
the Richmond College site within the
holiday week is pretty good business.
Woodland Heights.
Excellent business for the past Week
Is reported by the Woodland Heights
Company. Another church committee
has selected Well located corner near
Semmes Avenue, upon which to build
In the near future. Foreseeing the
rapid development in this territory
four denominations have, very wisely,
purchased sites.
The company also reports the sale
OF three lots on Twenty sixth Street,
near Semmes Avenue, and two lots on
Twenty eighth. Both will be improved
at once. Indications point to a veri-
Heights during the coming season, and
table building boom in Woodland
at this time over half dozen homes
are being erected by the owners.
Christmas Weeks DoinSs
Hanging over to the new year are
whole lot of deals that are on the
string, and | am told that not less
Than dozen agents eNpecteto do some
thing that Is almost startling even
during the days from now to the open
Ing of the new year.
The Christmas week has In years
gone by been sometimes famous for
nuiet big business transactions, After
the first days of the festive week
uuietness follows, and then traders and
tratfickers get together in some quiet
room all to themselves and turn tricks
that early in the Year startle the un-
suspecting public, / have information
that several deals of this quiet kind
are on hand and likely to. he perfected
over eeg-nogs and other things be-
'ore the new year dawns,
Anyhow. the best satisfied among the
business folks of Richmond are the
Continual on Second pa &c l ~