New-York tribune., 1920-05-02
BY Bryan l.. Kennedy

y
The investment strength of real es.
tate has withstood the test under wal
conditions, financial panics and bust.
ness depressions and has emerged
stronger than ever. With the adjust
ment of the wage scale between the
building trades employers and labor
construction will be resumed on a large
scale in the near future Neverthe-
less, it will take builders several years
to catch up with the normal require
ments of fast growing city like New
York, and those owners who had the
faith and wisdom to hold their prop
erty will reap sure and even better
return than has ever before been pos
sible
The outstanding feature of the auc-
ton market has been the liqui-
dation Of old estates in the out
lying sections of the city. For many
years the owners of these properties,
which have remained unproductive
have awaited the opportunity to turn
their holdings into cash. Peace came
with plenty of money available and an
overwhelming demand for housing to
supply the deficit caused by war re-
strlctions. An eager public was ready
TO absorb what the market had to offer.
Trend Is Toward Public Buying
During the last few years there has
been q steady trend of investment buy
ing at auction. The prejudice which
the public has held against real estate
investments for many years is dying
out. More and more we find conserva-
tive banking institutions and individ-
uals handling real estate securities.
They are beginning to realize the
soundneSs of an investment which from
Iy,1Ia rv,,,,, ,,.,1 IL
foundation of savings bank strength
We find individuals of wealth putting
into improved real estate profits earned
in merchandising. We find large chain
store corporations buying, when posi-
BILE, property on which their stores
stand.
Real estate has come into its own
because conservative men and corpora
tions are investing in it, and they are
investing in it where the facts and
figures prove that a profit is to be paid
on the money expended. The seller as
we'll as the buyer has taken to the
fashion Of the auction room. The for
mer tnds 1t the easiest means for
quick turn with no "left overs" and
the latter is afforded an opportunity to
at first hand. The buyer at auction is
reasonably sure of getting the property
at the lowest market price, and prop
erty bought in such manner in many
instances has been quickly resold, net
ting profit to the shrewd buyer.
Medium of Profit Usually
Bidders are usually we'll versed in
the merits of properties which have
been advertised for such sales, and
they rarely bid above the actual values;
in fact, they seldom bid to the real
level, and for that reason many sue
cessful bidders at auction sales fre-
quently turn over their purchases at a
profit before leaving the salesroom.
This was demonstrated at the sale
of the Van Cortlandt estate prop
erty, when we'll known Bronx builder
bought the south corner of Broadway
and Spuyten Duyvil Parkway (242d
StreeD and resold it at profit before
leaving his seat in the room.
incidentally, the sale of this prop
erty, which had been handed down
through successive generations of one
of New York's most notable families
since the Dutch Colonial days, was an
epoch-making event in the annals of
the pubic sales market The offering
possessed many unique features which
appealed strongly not only to the pro-
fesslonal follower of the market, but
to the casual investor as we'll. There
was a mile Of Broadway lots fronting