The Unprecedented Land Boom of 1883
Official records show a staggering surge in Seattle property transactions, dwarfing neighboring Tacoma's growth.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Never before was real estate as active as in 1883. The best year prior to 1883 was 1882, but last year excelled it almost 100 per cent. The number of instruments recorded in the County Auditor's office last year was 3,828, of which 2,576 were deeds, 897 mortgages, and the rest bills of sale, liens and other instruments. There were also recorded 99 additions to the city. While it is impossible to get the exact aggregate of considerations due to the number of fictitious nominal prices, a reasonable estimate would be at least $5,440,000. In San Francisco, the number of deeds in 1883 was 2,700, only 130 more than in Seattle, while in Tacoma there were only 1,114—about two-fifths as many as in the Queen City. The movement in real estate at this point was unprecedented in the annals of the Pacific Coast.
“The movement in real estate at this point was unprecedented in the annals of the Pacific coast.”
This report captures Seattle at the onset of its transformation into a regional power. The 'additions' mentioned are the very neighborhoods being laid out today, reflecting a cycle of aggressive real-estate speculation that has defined the city from its infancy to the modern housing crisis.
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