What to do with vacant and abandoned residential structures? The effects of teardowns and rehabilitations on nearby properties

摘要

In the presented paper, we estimate the impacts of three distinct housing policy interventions to deal with distressed and abandoned residential properties: leaving vacant buildings in their current state, remodeling/rebuilding residential structures, and razing vacant structures. We show that vacant structures negatively impact nearby housing up to 4.1%, but when demolition is followed by complete reconstruction, neighboring housing can be appreciated by as much as 14.1%. In addition, negative spillover effects from foreclosures and vacant buildings are primarily observed in low-income and middle-income Census tracts, whereas positive spillover effects generated by remodeling are seen in high-income Census tracts.