The Washington times., 1937-02-20
RISE IN SALES
BEGAN THREE
YEARSAG0
Business, Residential II
Property Included
In Activity
BY JOHN DEAN MILLIGAN
Real Estate Editor

Purchase of real estate as an
investment, both by individual
families buying a home and folk
desiring dividends on a bit of
money, has been one of the sig
nificant developments in the
Washington field during the past
two or three years.
While speculation quite prop
erly continues 10 play a large part
in recent transactions, sizable
percentage of sales can be traced
directly to a conviction that real
estate offers a sound investment
both for a family obtaining resi-
dence and those who desire to be
absentee landlords.
Capital Available
Not that there is anything new
in this situation, since it is as old
as the ownership of property, but
it is a fact that realty investment
sales have seen ups and downs.
The Importance of the trend to
the broker or speculator is the
growing consciousness of the sta
bility of real estate as compared
with certain other forms of invest
ment. Since money Is looSening
up, the real estate man is natu-
rally happy to find large part Of
the capital feeling for good berth
in his field.
The placement of individual
family buying IN the investment
field is not far-fetched. BaSically,
it represents an urge to invest
available savings and future in
come in a profitable way. The
wish to have good home can be
fulfilled by renting: the wish to
improve the family resources often
results in the purchase Of home.
Invest in Homes
Certainly the old-fashioned rea-
son for owning ones home, involv-
ing the stigma of renting or the
social undesirability of having a
mortgage, has long since passed
into history. Renting is obviously
and properly the correct procedure
for many families and businesses.
But obviously and properly the la
bility of a mortgage is nowadays
considered a good investment.
If the purchase of a home were
not a good investment, the average
family would hesitate to withdraw
from the bank that $1,000 or $4,000
so carefully boarded. 1t is the in
Vestment phase of home ownership
which has materially aided in re-
cent transactions, according to
Francis A. Murray, of the H. G..
Smithy Company, among other
commentators.
Speaking on this condition,
Claude F. Clarke, sales manager
for Walter A. Brown, points out
older Washington residents are
among the purchasers of both
homes and strictly investment
property in the past few months
and years. Not all Of the business
is traceable, he says, to the much
advertised newcomers here.
Newcomers Buying
Yet the influx of residents since
1888 has naturally been salient
factor in the steady rise of the
real estate sales curve. Estimates
of the number of Immigrants"
range from 100000 to 175,000.
They constitute an entire city
within themselves, a city big
enough to swamp many important
American communities.
Thousands will remain here, and
of them many have money. The
more quickly they learn Of the
stability Of District of Columbia
property, and the continued growth
of the section, the more quickly
they make investments in their
new home city rather than in
somebody's oil well.
Quite a number of real estate
men have been one jump ahead
of this development. That such
farSightedneSs can be profitable is
among the reasons why the article
on investment property by Morton
J. Luchs appears on this page.