National market report

Washington, D.C.

The Shaw neighborhood in the nation’s capital is in the midst of a rapid transformation. Developer JBG — the company behind an office building a block north of the White House and several major developments in the D.C. metro area — is marketing four trendy rental and condo buildings with 862 units in Shaw to millennials, according to The New York Times. The spike in development comes on the heels of a decade-long push toward gentrification in the historically black neighborhood, which is infamous for the 1968 riots in the wake Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The most prominent of JBG’s four buildings is a 310-unit condo dubbed Atlantic Plumbing, which will include retail and artist studio space. The new retail will join other nearby newbie brands like the trendy eyeglass company Warby Parker. From 2002 to 2013, the number of single adults without children jumped to 71 percent from 21 percent in Shaw. Meanwhile, rowhouses that were once home to low-income renters are now going for around $700,000. “It’s a whole new demographic,” one resident said.

Baltimore

While Baltimore has been in the headlines over the last year for the strained relationship between the police and the community, the city is seeing some good news on the real estate front. Indeed, a total of 2,965 homes sold during October, the most recent month on record, a 15.7 percent increase from October 2014 and the 15th consecutive month with an increase in year-over-year sales. But the same good news does not apply to Baltimore housing prices, which have dropped. That is primarily due to an uptick in bank-owned or foreclosed properties on the market, the Baltimore Sun reported. More than a fifth of all homes sold were bank-mediated transactions. “The lenders [were] finally in 2015 starting to release these properties to the market and they’re selling quickly,” said John Heithaus, of the Maryland-based research firm RealEstate Business Intelligence, which published the findings.

Detroit

Real estate in Detroit is so cheap that many foreign investors are banking on the fact that returns have nowhere to go but up. That includes high-profile players like Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who in 2014 purchased the 164,000-square-foot Marquette Building in downtown Detroit for $5.8 million. Meanwhile, in 2015, the Shanghai-based DDI Group put the downtown Detroit Free Press building up for sale for $16 million — four times what it paid in 2013. Now, some investors are even eyeing projects beyond the downtown. Real estate investment sales have reached well into the hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years, Crain’s reported. On the residential front, Detroit residents are buying properties in a land-bank auction program that’s unloading homes for as little as $1,000. Lenders, like the Michigan-based Talmer Bank, are buying homes, renovating and flipping them, according to the Washington Post.

A rendering of Apple’s “spaceship” campus in Cupertino

San Jose

A second Apple circular-shaped campus, or “spaceship,” could be landing in San Jose, Silicon Valley’s largest city. The tech giant is working with the city on a development agreement that could lead to a 4.2-million-square-foot campus. The site is larger than the campus Apple is building in Cupertino, California, the location of its corporate headquarters. The 15-year deal would give Apple development rights in an area that spans nearly 90 acres across from the San Jose International Airport. Apple has been on a buying spree over the last several months, buying 28 acres from Ellis Partners for $165.8 million and 43 acres from Lowe Enterprises for $138 million. Despite the rumors of a second “spaceship,” Apple hasn’t revealed its plans for the site, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. But it is working with the city to hammer out a development agreement, suggesting it wants to move quickly.

California

Pop star Selena Gomez is selling the Calabasas home she bought in 2014. Gomez picked up the 7,700-square-foot compound for $3.7 million but has listed it for $4.5 million. The five-bedroom home has five fireplaces, a chef’s kitchen, a theater, a gym and a guesthouse. The backyard also has an outdoor kitchen, pizza oven and pool. A string of intruders on the property may have led to Gomez’s decision to sell, according to TMZ.

California

The home of the late actor and former National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston is on the market. The five-bedroom Beverly Hills estate is priced at $12.3 million and is being sold by the Heston family. Heston lived in the home until his death in 2008 and referred to it as “the house that ‘Ben-Hur’ built” — a reference to the film that won him an Oscar in 1959. Architect William Beckett designed the 10,000-square-foot mansion, which has sweeping views of the L.A. hills. The home includes a sunken library, angular pool, three-story art studio, screening room, tennis court and meditation area.

New Orleans

Actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are selling their French Quarter home in New Orleans for $5.7 million — an $850,000 price chop from the original asking price. The couple bought the renovated 1830s mansion in 2006 when Pitt was filming “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” They plan to stay in the Big Easy but are looking for “something off the beaten path down the road,” according to Us Weekly. The five-bedroom home includes Venetian plastered walls, marble mantles and fireplaces, an elevator and a guesthouse. Actor Jonah Hill crashed at the home for months while he was filming “21 Jump Street.”

Michigan

The weekend home of film critic Roger Ebert is up for sale two years after his death. The 4,140-square-foot house sits on the shores of Lake Michigan and includes a guesthouse. Ebert shared it with his wife, Chaz, who has listed it for $4 million. Naturally, the four-bedroom home includes a giant screening room. The lakeside estate was originally built in 1934 for pro wrestler “Jumping” Joe Savoldi. It’s also just down the beach from the old home of the late poet Carl Sandburg.