Preventing the occurrence of vacant houses and reutilizing existing vacant houses are two known ways of addressing housing vacancies. This study uses parcel-level data on single-family houses in the municipality of Toshima in Tokyo, Japan, to examine determinants of the occurrence and reutilization of vacant houses. The data reveal that, conditional on land prices, houses with restricted and costly redevelopment opportunities are more likely to become vacant. The results suggest that owners with such properties disregard the redevelopment potential and, as a result, tend to have a high reservation price relative to the market value. Consequently, owners face difficulty finding a transaction partner and even become reluctant to engage in a deal (i.e., they withdraw from the market). The results also suggest that revitalization of the neighborhood community may contribute to activating vacant houses. Local governments can use an empirical assessment such as this to implement efficient measures by targeting houses that have a high probability of becoming and remaining vacant.

防止出现空置房屋和重新利用现有的空置房屋是解决房屋空置的两种已知方法。本研究使用日本东京丰岛市单户住宅的宗地级数据来研究空置房屋发生和再利用的决定因素。数据显示，以土地价格为条件，重建机会有限且成本高昂的房屋更有可能空置。结果表明，拥有此类物业的业主无视重建潜力，因此相对于市场价值而言，保留价格往往较高。因此，业主面临寻找交易伙伴的困难，甚至不愿参与交易（即，他们退出市场）。结果还表明，邻里社区的振兴可能有助于激活空置房屋。地方政府可以使用这样的经验评估，通过针对很有可能成为和保持空置的房屋来实施有效的措施。