Neighborhoods with high vacancy rates rarely recover, according to the study. Vacancy is “first and foremost a symptom of other problems — concentrated poverty, economic decline, and market failure,” the study notes. That means the solutions must go beyond just tearing abandoned buildings down. The study urges local governments to use tools like “spot blight” eminent domain, vacant property receivership, and land-banking to speed up the transition from owner to owner. — CityLab

Now on the market for the first time since 1973 is the Studio City residence known the world over as the Brady Bunch house. Built in 1959, the property was discovered by location scouts a decade later and appeared in every episode of the hit TV show except the first. [...]

Sited on a .29-acre lot that abuts the LA River, the cultural icon is listed with an asking price of $1.885 million. Due to the intense interest expected, no open houses will be scheduled. — Curbed LA

Whether these new apartment buildings can endure another major storm does not seem to be a concern for most residents, who are glad to have new options in inventory-starved markets. Critics, though, ask whether the neighborhoods can withstand the surge of new development and the stress it will add to an already strained infrastructure. These new buildings might remain unscathed in a flood, they say, but what about the damage caused by the torrent around them? — The New York Times

Perhaps it’s not a surprise in a city where residential prices can reach into the stratosphere, but in Los Angeles, more than 17 percent of all homes are valued at over $1 million.

What may be more shocking is that L.A. doesn’t have the highest share of million-dollar homes. [...]

San Jose and San Francisco were No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. In San Jose, homes valued over $1 million made up 53 percent of the market. San Francisco’s million-dollar-share was at 40 percent. — The Real Deal

Located in Los Feliz, the 5,500-square-foot house was built from 27,000 concrete blocks, with some blocks featuring intricate geometric patterns. [...] Ron Burkle purchased the home from the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation for $4.5 million in 2011, property records show. After purchasing, he then restored it, adding an extra $10 million to improve the home after it had suffered major damage from a previous earthquake and heavy rains. — The Real Deal

The architect behind 53 West 53rd wanted the tower to be synonymous with New York City, to be a building that couldn’t easily be slipped into another skyline.

“A worldwide catastrophe today is the number of buildings that are parachuted because they were preconceived. Offices, housing, shopping malls all look the same,” Jean Nouvel told The Real Deal, translated from French. — The Real Deal

A Crunchbase News analysis of residential-focused real estate startups uncovered a raft of companies with a shared and temporary housing focus that have raised funding in the past year or so.

This isn’t a U.S.-specific phenomenon. Funded shared and short-term housing startups are cropping up across the globe, from China to Europe to Southeast Asia. — TechCrunch

As seas rise and coasts wash away, who owns the land that goes underwater? Versions of that debate are taking place in courtrooms, legislatures, and government offices, raising the question of whether and when climate change justifies seizing private property. The stakes are enormous, affecting not just ownership of offshore mineral and fishing rights but also potentially trillions of dollars of coastal real estate. — bloomberg.com

A homeowner in a housing complex in London with Grenfell-type cladding has been told the value of her £475,000 home has collapsed and is now just £50,000.

Galliard Homes, the developer of the 11-block complex in New Capital Quay in south-east London, is facing a £30m-£40m bill to replace the cladding and is locked in a legal dispute over who should pay. — The Guardian

Last December, plans were unfurled for 130 William, a reverential new skyscraper to jostle amongst the spired giants of lower Manhattan.

[...] we can note that the project has achieved two small construction milestones in its journey against the sky: crews have reached street level and standing upright is a red kangaroo crane that will bring the rectangular tower to its full 66-floor, nearly 800-foot-tall summit. — CityRealty

Ford Motor Co. is in discussions to purchase the dilapidated Michigan Central Station in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood just outside of downtown, Crain's has learned from multiple sources familiar with the negotiations. — Crain's Detroit Business

[...] the value of the average Japanese house depreciates to zero in 22 years. (It is calculated separately from the land, which is more likely to hold its value.) Most are knocked down and rebuilt. Sales of new homes far outstrip those of used ones, which usually change hands in the expectation that they will be demolished and replaced. In America and Europe second-hand houses accounted for 90% of sales and new-builds for 10% in 2017. In Japan the proportions are the other way around. — The Economist

Today, listings from one coast to another tout Bitcoin as a way to make a property transaction. A new collection of haute residences in Hollywood with Los Angeles skyline views go for $1.21 million or its Bitcoin equivalent; in Washington, D.C., two-bedroom condos are on the market for between 36 and 84 Bitcoins. In Austin, the seller of one ranch is offering a “signficant discount” if the buyer pays with Bitcoin. — Curbed

Portland's urban renewal agency has named three finalists to shape the redevelopment of the soon-to-be-vacated downtown post office blocks.

Not among them: a headline-grabbing but unlikely proposal for two massive skyscrapers, the taller of which would be nearly twice the height of any existing building in Portland. — oregonlive.com