Evening star., 1925-08-07
REAL ESTATE HELD
LURE TO INVESTORS
Booms in Various Sections
Are Attracting the Modern
Fortune Seeker.
BY J. C. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 7.-Instead of
seizing the old stampeding pack and
plungfng into the frozen North, or
saddlfng the burro and seeking the
desert sands, the modern seeker after
sudden fortune is cranking up the
trusty f1ivver and running to the near
est real estate boom.
He does not have to so far, for
booms are reverberating in scores OF
localities In the Nation. The method
OF approach may be different, but once
on the scene the tension and proceed
ure at the real estate booms is ex-
actly the same as have obtained at
every big mining and oil excitement
in the last rs years.
The booms of largest preparations
on at present are probably those in
Florida and along the Gulf coast OF
Mississippi and Louisianan. South
bound trains, on which traffic is or
dinarily light in the Summer time. now
are carrying swarms of people. For
the first time in history Florida hotels
are swamped with guests in Summer.
Automobiles are congesting every
southern highway, filled with land
seekers and land sellers.
Effects Seen i'm Cities.
Many would-be investors held off
last Winter in Florida in the hope
that they could buy more advantage
,ously in the hot weather. Populations
of cities which ordinarily drop heav-
lily after February have increased
this wear. Hundreds of thousands of
workmen, farmers and mocha mics
have moved from other States since
June to work in Florida, Mississippi
and Louisiana. Streets, hotels, boot
black stands and park benches are
cluttered with men and women sell
ing and buying lots-fast.
Owners of Mississippi coast realty
are many millions richer than they
were six months ago. Between Bay
st. Louis and Ocean Springs and
around Lake Pontchartrain values
have jumped amazingly, and property
to the west has had equal advances.
The booms still continue on the Pa
cifc coast. although the newness of
the Los Angeles excitement appears
to have worn off. Los Angeles showed
Florida the way in high-pressure
salesmanship. and the realtors in the
Southeast proved apt. enough pupils
to outshine their instructors in some
instances. An extent of the operations
in Miami for example may be seen
from the fact that July bank clear
inzs totaled 500 .o60 ,291, as compared
with $13.306,7s9 in 1924. Other Florida
and Mississippi towns have recorded
similar advances. .,sN "a
The move toward the opening
spaces of beach or upland is not con-
fined to the South. The latest boom
is bass-drumming in the Rockaway
section of Long Island, where special
police were necessary to keep buyers
and sellers from blocking traffic. For
a time property changed hands so
- IL t.,l
check for a property, sell it at a
profit, and escape before the bad
check came back.
Other points of Long Island, New
Jersey and Westchester County are
staging booms of their own, all being
handled along the Florida system. The
writer saw property owner of Long
Bach stand on the boardwalk one
day this week and dispose of over
$500 900 worth of his own lots within
an hour.
Activities In Chicago Area.
In the neighborhood of Chicago
similar activities are apparent under
prospects that communication service
and automobile traffic will enable
many now living in the city to move
to suburban localities.
Since the development at the town
Of Shaker Heights, near Cleveland,
started, 1850 acres consisting of 1000
lots have been sold for approximately
$e5, 900, 900. 1t is estimated the pro-
moters, the municipality and other
property owners have spent 100000
600 on improvements.
Generally speaking, the real estate
activity is due to two or three fac
tors One. Is the desire of modern
Americans to get out of doors. They