New-York tribune., 1919-01-14
High Rentals
I'm Apartments
Lead to Deals
Investors and Spectators
Are Active - Incomes
Will Be Much Larger
New Building Expected
Prices of Houses Rapidly
Approaching the Cost
of New Construction

Apartment houses, both large and
small, expensive and inexpensive, are
the demand of buyers now in the real
estate field. Yesterdays trading was
confirmation of this feature of the
buying movement, which has been
growing larger and wider each day since
the first of the year. The high rentals
prevailing in apartment houses, and
the belief that it will be ten years
before sufficient number of apart
ments have been erected to relieve the
situation and bring down rentals, have
made this kind of property extremely
attractive, first to the speculator and
secondly to the investor
The spectators interest is in sup
plying the demand of investors, who
are increasing in number. The profess
sional is also speculating on the up
ward trend of rentals. and is holding
his purchases, feeling that rentals to-
day, which may seem exorbtant TO
those who pay them will be much
higher since population is increasing,
while building is practically at stand
still.
The value of apartments as a conse-
quence, has moved upward and will
soon be on a scale which will warrant
the speculative builder coming into the
leld, as new construction will he 10
more expensive than buildings erected
before the war. Apartment houses On
the upper west side are now selling
at from $1,000 to S1.400 a front foot,
while S1,100 front foot was the high
est price there few years ago.
In The Bronx modern apartment
house construction, which sold for $500
a front foot three years ago, is bring
ing 1900 front foot day. These
prices, according to real estate men,
are about what it would cost to pro-
duce similar buildings to-day. 1t is
natural, therefore, to look to resump-
tion of new construction since tcnan-
try has been educated to higher rentals,
due to the upward movement of in
comes to meet the upward movement
of fec values, which are pointed to-
ward the cost of producing those
buildings to-day.
The attractiveness of apartment
house ownership has spread far and
wide, as was indicated yesterday by the
purchase by Martin T. Kern, vice
president of the Penn Trust Co---pany
OF Allentown, Penn, of the nine story
Street, valued at 100000, by D. Rush
Stoddard, of the West India Steamship
Company, who sold the property Mr.
Stoddard bought the house in July
from Frederick Rrown as investment.
Mr.. Brown had but short time
previously acquired the building from
Mrs. S. S. Mintun at price regarded
lew at the time of purchase. The
iouse covers a site SO feet wide and
1922 feet deep, adjoining the residence
of James B. Clews at the north corner
Of Of Fifth Avenue; and Eighty fifth
Street. Mr.. Kern has been an active
buyer in the market. The Frank L.
Fisher Company negotiated the deal.
Builders Sell on Heights
The V. r. Building Company has
disposed of practically the last five
story houses on Washington Heights
their builders. They are the two
apartments, on the north side of 172d
Street west Of Broadway. They have
a frontage of IS feet each and abut
the sixstory houses at 644 to $50
West 173d Street. which were sold on
Saturday, by William S. Baker, to the
Jules Realty Company, for Max Click
man and Samuel Lipman. |. M. Stlun-
sky was the broker in the 172d Street
deal.
$225,000 House for Natanson
The Rochambeau, at the northeast
corner Of 18th Street and Manhattan
Avenue. has been purchased by the
Mason Realty Company, or Max N.
Natanson, from Gustave A. Walker.
1he property is fully rented at $4,000
yearly and was held at S225.0OO. It
was purchased for cash through Shaw
q Ebbitt. The house is six stories
high, and covers site 1oOx1OO.
Shift in Women's Hat Trade
The Ogden G. Clarkson Corporation
has leased the eighth floor at l31-137
West Thirty-ffth Street to Mosher G.
lttelson manufacturers of ostrich
feathers; eighth floor at 1921 West
Ihlrty-sixth Street to S. Geismer &
Co., manufacturers Of ostrich feathers:
space at IL West Thirty sixth Street to
Milton Sommerich, rs showroom for
women's hats, and the third loft at as
East Twentieth Street to Bernstein E.
Schulman, with Spear & Co.
). Arthur Fischer has leased four
lofts at 102 West Fortieth Street to
James A. Lanios; to Bouyukas Brothers.
marble manufacturers, the two story
building, at 341 West Forty-fourth
Street; the fourth loft, at iii West
Forty-eighth Street to Nicholas M.rkle,
SILKS and chiffons, and the two upper
lofts, at 344 Seventh Avenue, to Nae
kars Brothers.
Bastinc 4 Co. have leased the fol-
lowing space: Store and basement at
~ East Nineteenth Street, to Esterson
q Esterson, and fifth floor, at 27 East
Tenth Street. to Isaac Storch.
Old frcepOrt Hotel in Deal