CHOICE OF A REGION 



515 



have a fairly constant relationship, but the prices may 

 jump up in one region and then in another. Land values 

 do not rise uniformly. 



Sometimes values become inflated. When land rises 

 very rapidly, it is fairly certain to rise too high. Buyers 

 come to expect their profit from the increase in value 



1850 1860 18TO I860 1890 1900 1910 



FIG. 116. Comparative hind values in Iowa, Illinois, and Now York. 



rather than the income, but this cannot continue indefi- 

 nitely. There are some regions where land is paying 

 only 3 per cent interest, when safe mortgages pay 5 

 per cent. The owners hope for a rise in value to cover 

 the remaining interest. So long as there is another man 

 ready to buy at the higher price, this works out all right, 

 but there comes a last buyer. By this process, it some- 

 times happens that land rises to much more than its real 

 value before the drop comes. 



