If landlords can’t pay back loans on office buildings, the lenders will suffer. Some banks are trying to avoid that fate.

Hard times are likely ahead for a lot of people. Mind your expenses and plan to save where possible just in case. Apologies for having a doomer outlook; I’m very cynical about capitalism, especially in the USA.

  • aodhsishaj@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Commercial real estate, likely a restructuring due to folks not returning to the office. Been a downward trend since before Covid. Initial downturn was corps leaving downtowns, minor spike in 2022 and trending south.

      • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        No one wants to take the upfront cost of renovation. Corporate buildings aren’t an easy conversion into normal apartments. Plumbing especially is very different.

        • Cryophilia@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          I’ve seen estimates that it’s frequently cheaper to demolish the building and build a new one.

          • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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            4 months ago

            That may be true depending on the extent of remodeling necessary. Do that and make it a green building with modern heat pump and you could make a profit in a few years. But they want the profit now

      • BakerBagel@midwest.social
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        4 months ago

        It really just isn’t possible for most ooffice buildings. Think about how many bathrooms/kitchenettes are on a floor of any office building. You would have to likely double or triple that number to convert to housing, which is an absolutely insane and expensive prospect that would require gutting the entire building and resoing the entire plumbing and electric systems. It’s chraper to jist tear the fuckers down and build something made for condos/apartments.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        4 months ago

        Remodel as residential?

        That’s expensive and time consuming.

        I’ve seen it done a couple of times and it took way longer than just bulldozing and rebuilding. But that would have been even more expensive.

      • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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        4 months ago

        Remodel as residential?

        That’s expensive and time consuming.

        I’ve seen it done a couple of times and it took way longer than just bulldozing and rebuilding. But that would have been even more expensive.