The Bill Is Coming Due on a Record Amount of Commercial Real Estate Debt

return2ozma@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 177 points –
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Which is why I said "dangerously close". Office buildings which are empty because they're not needed as offices any more can be sold to developers who will turn them into housing or shops. But with fewer employers based there, demand for housing and shops may also disappear.

Or they can just be sold to other employers who actually need them?

Where are those employers coming from? The issue arises precisely because companies don't need anything like as much office space as they used to.

Some employers do, some don't. Maybe new businesses come along that need office space but couldn't previously afford it.

Yes, obviously. Is the number of employers who no longer need the office space larger or smaller than the number of employers who need more office space?

They're going to make a loss. They do not want to make a loss. No amount of imaginary buyers is going to stop them having to take a loss.