The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-03-16
REAL ESTATE AND
BUILDING NEWS
A Rather Dull Week,
and Various Are the
Reasons for 1t. :
AUCTION SALES
AND THE EXCHANGE
The Trading and Swapping.
Evils of the Padding Business.
Views of a Conservative.
Spectators Very Quiet.
Reasons for It-Vari-
Gus Views.

There were several causes for the
dullncss in the real estate market last
week. and there was certainly dull
ness. kind of all pervading dullness.
Several of the real estate men, agents
and buyers and spectators and per-
manent investors and the like wanted
TO attribute the SLOW business entirely
TO the rainy weather. and they were
disposed to complain not little of
the continued rains that did, indeed,
act as a damper on the real estate
business in Richmond. but at the same
time the same continued rains were
simply Nglorious for the farmers of
Virginia. Other agents gave other
reasons for the dullness and the
shortness of sales and deals.
One OF the fraternity with whom /
had long heart to heart talk, and he
is one OF the older Of the gang and
Is pleased to record himself as a con-
servativc. unhesitatingly attributed
the slack up in the real estate business
TO over speculation. to too much trad
ing and swapping and to what he
was pleased to call tho padding of
values" I asked him to explain the
meaning of padding OF values. and here
is his reply: You see. it is just this
way: Spectators. pure and simple. buy
property here there and everywhere,
and then. when things grow little
dull they get to trading and swapping
among themselves. In these trades
and swaps very little, IL any, money
changes hands. For instance. A holds
property on Grove Avenue that is
really worth $4,000. r holds property
on Marshall Street that is really worth
S2.100.
How II IL Done.
They swap, y paying the 500 diff
ference. and that is all the money
that changes hands 10th are salts
fed, but a still owns some other Grove
Avenue ca
other Marshall Street property close
to that which he has just traded, and
so for reasons that are apparent they
agree to pad values and the papers
go To record showing that y sold to
p certain Grove Avenue property for
$4,000 and IS sold to y certain Mar
shall street property for $500. You
sec the difference. or boot remains
the same, 500. and the Increased cost
OF rccordation is very small, but
all the same false impression has
been made for n and f have aciver-
tised To the world that property In
the ncighborhood OF lots they still
own is worth and is selling for % per
cent more than its real value, and thus
they practice u fraud The older and
the more conservative among the
agents are doing all in their power to
ST. down upon and discourage this
system Of swapping and padding of
values, but | am afraid that there are
agents who are doing just to the con-
trary' It was further explained to
me that the effect of this padding bust
ness was to demoralizc things in gem
eral. 1t causes owners of saleable
property to get the wrong idea OF the
value Of adjoining or nearby prop
critics and get their ideas of Richmond
values inflated beyond the reach of the
newcomers and the permanent inves-
tors who really want to buy good
property, but who are too smart and
too we'll posted to be hoodwinked by
padded values" The padding" bust
ness is silly to say the least of It,
Rniny Day Auction Sales.
was one of the conservative kind,
spoke right out and said: This sky
scraping speculation has reached the
limit. and the sooner we get down to
hard pan the better. 1t is much easier
10 get down by degrees than to stay
mp In the clouds until all hope is ex-
hausted, and then fall down like ton
OF lead.
II think the spectators have rea-
lied this and have taken in their
horns accordingly. That possibly ex-
plains the dizziness that the other
agents have been telling YOU about"
But going back To the first expla-
nation of the dulness of tho past week,
the rainy weather: IL is true that the
rains came and continued and blessed
/ be the said rains. for they were much
needed. and have come in good time to
be n wonderful blessing to the agri-
cultural fraternity all over Virginia.
and If they hurt the real estate busl-
ness at all ii was only the damage
consequent upon the postponement of
II few auction sales. J am not sure
/ that any auction sales had been an
nounced for last week and had to be
I postponed on account of the rains, but
quite n number are announced for this
/ week. and ii the rains continue, they
/ cannot take place. because OF the old
antideluvian custom that still prevails
in Richmond Of holding all auction
/ sales NJ realty on the ground, a silly
/ old custom that has been abandoned
/ I'm MI of the up to-date cities of any
consequence except Richmond. There
/ is no reason in the world except the
unaccountablo prejudice of q few old
/ fogies why all the realty auction sales
for Richmond aud the suburbs should (
not take place In the Richmond Real
/ Estate Exchange rooms on Main Street
instead of out on the ground that is
! to he sold. Then sales would come
when advertised and not postponed
from ono time TO another to escape
March blows and April showers and
all the like of that.
Safes "a Half Million.
Notwithstanding the dullness that
is referred TO above, some of the
agents did business. and some right
good sales were made. Perhaps If the
swaps and the trades were counted
going and coming. and given the full
benefit of the value padding process.
tho total sales for the week might be
put down at something like $56o.000,s
but just how to separate the padding
and the trading and the swapping
from the real thing. / do not know.
None OF the agents made very large
Las at Iaas M no a., x~.tl
to tell anything about what they did
do. but all OF them did business along
| small lines. and In many cases, mafy4
small sales footed up avery good An ~