The sun., 1912-08-04
BETTER APARTMENTS
FOR NO MORE MONEY.
Rent Payer Gets Much Greater
- Value Than lie Did Fiji
teen Years Ago.
RATES ADVANCED LITTLE
Competition Keeps Down Prices
aud Makes Builders Put
Forth Best Efforts.

There never was a time in New York
city VIXEN people received more Tor their
money than do apartment house dwellers
to-day. During the last few years there
has been loud cry of high vents which
have forced thousands Of reople out of
the ci;y and into individual houses in the
suburbs. But the facts are that high class
apartments do not bring more than 10
yer cent. more in rents than they did
from ten to fifteen years ago. and the
accommodations and service are so over
whelmingly better than they were then
' that il can be said safely that in com
rarson with what tenants get they pay
less rent now than ever before
Since the idea was first deveiojed Of
having great buildings 70 house many
families III suites where they had all tine
facilities for housekeeping. rentals have
. not been below $50 a room FER month for
the best grade. and in some caees where
, houses we're especially well situated as
regarded transit facilities and TIE shop
ping and theatre sect ion rates We're
considerably higher. IA PRICE Of $40 or s35
a month room not having been I'm
usual. For those same prices to-day one
G0I ktt Us INV folS tS CpulI
10 desired and better than those provided
ia many we'll built modern dwellings.
A. lower rates as low even as sla and
N4 o room u month. accommodations
can be had right now III Manhattan
which in many ways are superior 10 those
offered ten or twelve years ago in the
finest houses in the city.
1t really is not that rents have advanced
greatly for New Yotk apartment house,
owners Of the older buildings are getting
less in net income from their buildings
than ever before. and the newer houses
are paying their large annual returns
only because the builders set them higher
10 the air and from a much larger mum.
her Of apartments To a house derive a
greater income. Ten year ago six story
apart ments were the rule but nobody
: would think of building sumpt uous
house Of six stories now. for the rents To
be had from such a building would not
nav the carrying charges
There are number of reasons why
apartment rentals insNIsnhattan cannot
advance materially and these same rea-
sons have been good IN the past even H.
they are now. The first and principal
one il competition. Every. year the
builders of New York erect about 80 many
new buildings with accommoda tons for
so many families. For tenants these
, houses must look TO other older buildings
and to the private residences. Their
owners are forced To the strongest kind
OF competing and to win they must pro-
vide better than can be had elsewhere
for an equal amount of money SO IL j.
that each year some little Improvement is
added to apartment houses which may
mean u slight additional expense TO the
owner, but this IL his concession to his
future tenants Years ago. when apart
nrent houses were still sonnet ething Of a
novelty come builder conceived the idea
OF placing telephones in each of the apart
ments OF his new house. That was the
feature for that year and attracted many
tenants. More recently the vacuum
cleaner has been added and the refrigerat-
ing system 50 year after year some de-
tail was Incorporated into the new build
ings which made them more attractive
than the older ones. but the increases thny
brought in rents We're almost negligible
OF course uli these improvements wer.
expensive. and with the increased ASSESS
,sents meaning higher taxes and with
puiding costs steadily mounting. ther.
was nothing for tlie builder 10 do but add
inore stories to his nov building. which
gould be done AT comparat ivey sm al
"a and 1c. thr. added rents from the
..r"a ei' number. Of apart mants. On
hing NOR. he did which il he exception
~ the statement of prescott day value, hs
made most OF his rooms considerably