Meet the man paying $55 in rent for a Soho pad, 1 WTC inches closer to Empire State Building … and more

1. Meet the man paying $55 a month for his one-bedroom Soho apartment [Post]
2. 1 WTC hit 93rd floor last week, will surpass Empire State Building in as little as four weeks [NYDN]
3. Eretz Group holds out for $1.8M in rent for vacant retail space at 155 Fifth Avenue [WSJ, 1st item]
4. The similarities and differences between selling real estate in London and New York City [FT]
5. Co-op sales price floors make it difficult for some New Yorkers to sell their homes [NYDN]
6. Amex launches $3M fund to save landmarked buildings, voters choose beneficiaries [Crain’s]
7. Mortgage settlement is little relief to NY homeowners improperly foreclosed upon [Post]
8. Seven-bedroom combo in the El Dorado hits market for $14.1M [Curbed]
9. Inside the Out NYC, the city’s “first gay hotel” [NYT]
10. And what makes six more hotels in the city gay-friendly [NYT]
11. DOB places vacate order on Far Rockaway home where third-floor collapsed [AP]
12. Mayor Bloomberg proposal to reduce crane licensing restrictions gets support from REBNY developers, anger from unions [NYDN]
13. Hudson Realty Capital partners with RXR for real estate debt fund [GlobeSt]
14. Denihan Hospitality Group adds the Franklin and the Mansfield to its management roster [Crain’s]
15. Housing starts, existing home sales data set to be released this week will offer latest clues on economic recovery [Post]
16. Home builders stock index improves 25 percent year-to-date [WSJ]
17. Industrial and distribution centers will be in high demand in NY area over next three years [WSJ, 2nd item]