San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-30
AN ACTIVE LAND MARKET

The winter of 1924 in San Antonio
presages an active land market. Real
estate men already report more inquiries
for lands than in many months past and
a number of large deals have been
closed. That this demand will continue
for considerable period of time is in
Dictated by general business conditions.
All that can prevent a modified land boom
is an adverse business crisis which would
tend to slow down all enterprises.
There are several reasons for the tend
ency to trade in lands. The first is
that the country is generally prosperous
and there is considerable money seeking
safe investment. The public has largely
lost confidence in stocks and bonds, eX-
cept the most gilt-edged industrial secur-
tiles. Recent conditions on the stock ex-
change have not been such as to stinlu-
late investment there and it will be some
time before public confidence in such Sc
curities is restored.
Then too. there is a considerable sum
of speculative money available. This
money went into oil shares and similar
projects with alluring possibilities but
with the low price of oil and gasoline,
the prosecution of promoters and the
general uncertainty in the oil market,
no money is going into oil at this time
except through strictly trade channels.
The public has bought almost to
saturation on motor cars, another prolific
source for absorbing available money.
This does not mean that there will be
no more motor cars Sold 1t means only
that the total volume will not be heavily
Increased for some time to come.
The speculative possibilities in city
real estate have largely been exploited.
The "own-your-own-home" campaigns in
most cities have largely exhausted the
funds available from that source.
Hence we find the country looking
again towards farm and ranch lands and
it is probable that large sums of money
will be diverted from other investment
channels this winter. There seems to be
growing belief that land values will
hold about steady for some time to
come. High-priced farm lands are not
in demand at all, it being recognized that
certain element of initiation there will
have to be eliminated before they will
be attractive investments.
But the lands of South Texas are ideal
~ suited to the kind of investment that
is. being sought The value of these
lands has not been inflated. They are
priced today below their actual earning
power when properly managed. There
are several million acres of good undo
iveloped agricultural lands in Soutl'
Texas which form an unusually inviting
ENLISTMENT
: Colonization projects will not prove
s. inviting as the investment features
tt seems to be the consensus Of opinion
among well informed men in the land
business here that almost any purchaser
of land who uses ordinary care in the
selection of his acreage will make 4
Handsome return in the ordinary course
Of events in the next two or three years
The surest proof that the land mer
regard the values as good is found ir
the fact that of the sales reported here
during the last thirty days. a majority
were by land men buying for the pur-
pose OF speculative selling later in the
season.
Large ranches on which cattle produc-
ton no longer is profitable form til,
most inviting field for investment bu