New-York tribune., 1911-11-29
THE DAY OF THE EXPERT
Numerous Specialists in the Real
Estate Market.
HIS COMMISSIONS LARGE
In the Early 40's Scientific
Methods in Building oper-
ations Were Unknown.


In the records relating TO the realty his
tory Of old New York there are many
uages missing Complete building tables
for some years prior to the early SOS can
not be found. And as regards brokerage
reports Of sales and leases in the year
when Robert H. Morris took the oath as
Mayor OF the city the few preserved sta
tstical documents would seemingly indi-
cate that Father ,I<nickerbocker then had
little pride in his realty achievements, as
viewed from the angle of the speculator
and investor in land and buildings
Even less than forty years ago the aver
age real estate broker or agent was looked
,ror with distrust, and as one who followed
such @ calling because he had been an
inter- failure in retail or wholesale
-lsde or was too lazy or mentally dense 10
r- himself for mercantile career. OF
course. there were many brainy and honest
brokers and agents at that time but they
had 20 overcome many times the suspicion
that they would not carefully and success.
fully conserve the interests of property
owners and buyers, owing 10 the sharp
practices or the majority Of their business
contemporaries.
mere rs no NOuul lLdl the pubuC JuuBcu
the real estate brotherhood too harshly
that most OF the aspersions furnishing its
business methods were unwarranted, and
that the general mistrust surrounding it
was a heavy. unjust stigma.
rev thoughtful business men. prominent
as citizens and merchants who witnessed
Mayor Norris installed into Office in 1874
could foresee that the real estate fields of
IRE city offered any lucrative inducement
70 any one except builders TO enter them.
worthy calling held so lightly natu-
-aUv turned away hundreds OF men worthy
to engage in it, and needed in it more
than In many other business walks. own
e-s of property then usually managed their
own improved sites. bought and sold with
OUT consulting any middlemen, left the
searching OF titles and the drawing OF con-
tracts 10 lawyers. got loans from banks or
individuals in order to fulfil their agree
uents. and If they had a structure to erect
.ust went ahead and got a builder to put
I'D the building under the owners super
yision
Why ask a real estate man, who proba-
rlv had never learned the three Rs 70
help get loan or find a lessee, or pass
uror the probable earning power Of pro-
rosed building, when such help or advice
in most circumstances was practically
vorthlesso
This condition was the heirloom that the
real estate market received from the early
zas which period had got II from much
earlier times II was an heirloom which
was not easy TO abandon, even II well
manned schemes had been laid TO do So
r. remained 10 burden the real estate mar
-.s+ through the trOublous days Of the C1vI
War and for many years Thereafter. F1nal-
Is, II was destroyed. and only slight mem-
orv Of It's awesone appearance fingers 70
r.'p trace the placing OF the real estate
market within the last threescore years
and ten. or since the regime OF Mayor
Morris on safe and enduring foundation
In the Early 4o's.
r- t5e carly 40's The newer building sec
tior NJ the city had its centre at about
10Th street and Broadway, the total yearly
ro4+ of the erection of all kinds Of build
inrs being about S4o00000. This year about
$50 Oo0 has already been spent for new
buildings projected for Manhattan sites
This. too. is what IS called an off year IN
building Office and apartment house struct-
T.
and best income producing buildings
within the boundaries of old Manhattan
Island In a brisk building period the an
rual cost Of construction work in the Bor-
ough Of Manhattan alone nearly reaches
the one hundred million mark
About seventy years ago the sum total
of Manhattan mortgage loans was not
much more than Sl5.OOOOOO and there were
no great money lending powers.
Days. and even months, we're spent in
producing what are to-day numbered as
little loans. Broad and deep are the money
lending channels now. An application for
q million or more can be passed upon, and
= satisfactory approved in a few hours.
IN the last ten months about six thou
sand new mortgages have been written and
about eighteen hundred old mortgages ex-
nded. The sum total OF those loans Is
about S340O00O0J. If there had been fur
-her demands on the loan channels, II is
safe 20 say that the SO00l0O0O mark could
'asily have been reached. The totals OF the