Show I Real Estate Activity One of the Outstanding Features of 1926 REAL ESTATE ACTIVITY 41 CITIES tt t I. I J I EACH MONTH SHOWN A 0 OF MONTHS 23 I 1921 21 1924 1926 Demand for Realty Mortgages at an Enthusiastic Pitch Despite Falling Off in I Florida Speculation Unsound Inflation Brought to Light and Checked An enormous activity In real estate estate es- es tate markets was ne of the outstanding outstanding out out- standing economic characteristics of 1926 Yet developments which occurred during the year helped to check some tendencies toward unsound unsound un- un sound speculation and brought about a saner attitude toward realty Investments From a real estate point of view 1926 consisted ot of three stages Tho first witnessed the climax of the Florida boom The second saw IncreasIng Interest interest In- In terest In real estate In other sections see sec of the country The third brought to light a growing unsound speculative situation situation situ situ- In time to prevent serious losses to investors on a wide scab scalo CLIMAX OF FLORIDA BOOM Last year opened with the Florida boom still in full progress It was not long however before a collapse came and prices which had been mounting skyward began to tumble This development was wag not unexpected unexpected a reflex from the wildly Optimistic spirit that pervaded nIl all Florida realty dealings was to occur The result of the relapse was that real estate transactions In Florida were placed on a sounder and more enduring basis Considerable fear was that the Florida situation would have a dIsastrous effect upon real estate activities In other sections but as weeks wees passed these fears proved unwarranted The demand demana over wIdely scattered areas for real estate for both personal usage and Investment purposes appeared to be insatiable This Is shown by bythe bythe the index of real estate transactions in leading cent centers rs compiled by the National Association of Real Estate Boards The index revealed a decidedly decidedly de- de high rate of trading at a level averaging 2 per cent above 1925 1025 REALTY FINANCING HEAVY Other indications of the years year's tremendous activity are to be found in statistics showing the volume ot of realty that financing is is the issuance issuance ance of m bonds According According Accord Accord- ing to the tho building economic research research re- re search bureau of the American Bond and Mortgage company real I estate mortgage bond during the year amounted to approximately approximately ap- ap proximately During the first ten months above worth of mortgage bonds was offered the public by the larger realty investment houses a ail compared corn com pared with which total a during the corresponding correspond correspond- ing period of 1925 This ten month gain which amounted to slightly more than 9 per cent was continued at least in part during the last iwo wo I months of 1926 This sam authority states that the autumn slackening in building operations during the past year was not felt in the realty bond market the demand for new v capital capital capi- capi tal for apartments apartment rit hotels hotels ho- ho and other t types pes of buildings continuing strong ENORMOUS EXTENT OF ACTIVITY The enormous extent of real estate es es- tate activities activities' In this country can be shown from several sets of fIg fIg- ures At the end of June 1925 for I instance Federal Reserve member I banks had outstanding loans on real estate which reached an estimated estl- estl mated total of Since the Federal Reserve member banks hold about 47 per cent of all bank deposits in the United States It might not be unfair to assume that the above real estate loan figures account for about the same proportion proportion pro pro- portion of all bank realty making the tho total perhaps around five and one half billion dollars This is in addition to millions upon millions of dollars held in real estate mortgages by other types of banks and by buildIng and loan associations It Is above and be beyond beyond be- be yond hundreds of millions of dollars dollars dol- dol lars of corporate securities Issued during recent years against real eState eS- eS tate tato enterprises It does not take into consideration realty mortgage holdings ot of Insurance companies that total more billions of I dollars Real estate mortgages mortgagee and real estate mortgage bonds have had a phenomenal increase in popularity since 1919 The last eight years for instance have seen more than two billions dollars In mortgage bond Issues offered to the Investing investing Invest Invest- ing public This popularity has naturally led to some unsound sit sit- Unscrupulous promoters eager to take advantage of the tho demand demand de- de mand for mortgage bonds have not been slow to organize fraudulent enterprises Furthermore many concerns of honest disposition have been somewhat overanxious and careless UNSOUNDNESS CHECKED Fortunately unsoundness in in inthe the thereal thereal real estate Inv investment field came cameto cameto to a head during 1926 A prominent prominent nent mortgage bond house found Itself in trouble and the resultant publicity which was welcome to the many soundly operated houses gave warning that unwise speculation speculation specula specula- tion would end in trouble Such tendency tendency ten ten- dency as had existed toward unsound unsound un- un sound inflation was largely curbed and the year undoubtedly ended with real estate activities on a much sounder basis than that which Obtained Oh- Oh tamed some months earlier It does not to a great many observers just now that real estate markets can be as active during the coming twelve months month's as they were in the past year Prophecies anent the building and andreal andreal real estate situation have been so often contradicted by ensuing developments developments de- de during recent years however that any expectations at best are mere guesses The actualIties WhIch will cOme cOmeIn In building and real estate cIrcles during 1927 are at Present very mu much h of an unknown 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