The New York herald., 1922-05-07

home sites. are Fastening the process of
obsolescene by splitting up portions Of
their properties and selling them by the
lot or in larger units. according to the
character of the neighborhood."
Cites Transfers of Estates.
Henry A. Rogers, vice president of the
Wheatley Hills Real Estate Corporation,
which handles many fine properties in
the exclusive sections of Long Island,
took issue with the theory that the large
country estate is passing. He insisted
that the records of the last few months
prove the contrary. In spite of the
general state Of the market for suburban
properties. he pointed to the fact that
several big estates have changed hands
in the Syosset and East Norwich section
of the North Shore. At least two of
these properties were valued at more
than $4,000 Mr.. Rogers said:
''The market for such properties is not
as intensive as ii was two years ago
or even a year ago for that matter.
Business is dull and business men and
investors are pulling in their horns.
But the big estate has not lost prestige
in America. OF course the owners of
such properties who have put their
estates on the market are coming down
In their prices. although they try as a
rule to conceal the fact.
"In other words they keep UP their
asking prices based on the standards of
the 1920 boom, but they accept amounts
that are sometimes very low in contrast.
In one case within my own knowledge
the asking price was about $3.50. 900
or 100000. The property actually
brought $4,000.
Investment Not Always SaIabIe.
"Tt must be remembered. however.
that the values placed on big estates by
their owners have always been largely
sentimental A man very seldom gets
out of such a property what he puts
into it for the simple reason that very
large part of the sum that he expends
in the fixing up of the estate is spent to
crafty his own particular tastes or
whims. Consequently he very seldom
can sell 1t for the amount that he has
invested unless he happens to come
across that rarest of miracles, a person
with tastes and whims identically like
his.
Moreover. believe that there is go
ing to be some activity in the field for
$50. 900 to $4,000 houses this summer
because of the conditions in Wall Street.
When brokers or investors take money
out of the street they very often put It
into country houses Of this type"
Good Market for Acreage.
A member of the George Howe organ
ization, which specialiZes in properties
IN the finer residential sections of West
chester and Connecticut as we'll as In
F'ieldston and Riverdale is authority for
the statement that the market for lots is
on the whole stronger than that Sor
houses. This, he said, Is based on 6e
erroneous idea that it is cheaper to btnld
to-day than to buy. He went on:
There is keen interest in country
houses. and the market is climbing the
hill to the summit of normality. hut
buyers as class are still afflicted with
the idea that they can go and pick up
something for nothing. The owners are
t~ifle obstinate in their idea of values
as well. but they have come down In GER
tain localities as much as 20 per cent
from the peak Of 1920 prices
ut would not be fair however to say
that this is an average reduction. Many
of the owners are still clinging to the
old boom prices. In certain isolated
cases, where owners have been forced
to the wall by business conditions.
houses are sold at sacrifice, but not
very often.
There are practically no houses IN
Westchester to be had at the 81 800
figure, but the demand for the proper
ties ranging from $4,000 to $4,000 in
good locations is in excess of the SUD-
ply. In the $4,000 $50, 900 class in West
chester there is also a fair amount of