Suburban Real Estate

Suburban real estate is and always will be a popular outlet for the speculative inclinations of a community, because there considerable money has been made by those who were either wise in their selections or fortunate. As a city grows in population, the tendency is to spread out on adjoining lands. Much money is also lost in such speculations. Take for example New York City. As the city is constituted at present, it covers five boroughs, including Staten Island. Boomers of New York City suburban properties will so word their announcements as to convey the impression that their property is a part of the city proper, when this is far from the case. How much one may be deceived is shown by the case of two small suburbs on the Long Island Railroad. One of these places is 36 miles distant from the City Hall, the other but 29 miles; yet the price placed on lots in the suburb farther away averages about $200 a lot, whereas lots of the same area in the suburb nearer the city, which has equally good transportation facilities and requires less time to reach, are to be had at less than $100. Here is an object lesson which requires no further discussion.

The same inflation can be found in suburban real estate outside the limits of most of our large cities. Chicago, when it had its suburban real estate boom previous to the World's Fair, was similarly afflicted. Lots bought in some of the mushroom outlying settlements have never again seen their first offering price and are likely never to see it again, as the city's growth has not extended so far or has gone in different directions.

Suburban real estate, or even city real estate proper, should never be purchased on mere say-so or description. It should first be visited by the purchaser, who at the same time should spend a little time looking into property values in the neighborhood and finding out about transportation facilities. Transportation really makes the property and lays the foundation for an increase in its value. The people who live in the suburbs do so for economical reasons. They can build their homes and maintain them more cheaply than in the city itself. But they must have quick transit facilities to and from their occupations. Along the principal avenue of the movements of this element of the population, real estate will always prove profitable speculation. The art lies in finding where that is and then getting property on a reasonable basis of value.

Land And Real Estate Booms. Test Questions

1. Show how land booms may benefit communities.

2. Give some notable illustrations of land booms.

3. Why are extensive land booms in the United States not likely to take place again?

4. What factors should be considered before purchasing a farm?

5. Explain the stock-company plan of owning large agricultural properties. In what industries has it been used extensively ?

6. Why are suburban real estate booms frequent? What dangers do they present for the investor?

7. What are some of the essential matters to consider when investing in suburban real estate?