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Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

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Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be really interesting if capsule-style apartments were available in NYC/SF/etc. I would absolutely pay $300-$400 a month for a permanent (not nightly, like they are in Japan) capsule in Lower Manhattan.

Can you show me where you can get a capsule hotel for $10-13 per night? I have not seen this rate, you’d probably be looking as $25 per night minimum probably more. Most actually nice capsule hotels are a tourist attraction and are nearly as expensive as normal hotels.

Not a capsule hotel but your very own room (also Osaka not Tokyo) $9/night: https://www.booking.com/Share-IONY8u

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#82
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about just regular apartments in Tokyo/Seoul/HK? Much much smaller than USA apartments.... Also much much cheaper, at least than NYC/SF/LA.

I think having the option of really small low quality accommodation in big cities is good, but let’s not pretend Tokyo/Seoul/HK aren’t just as expensive per sqft as NYC/SF/LA.

They aren't more expensive. But besides real-estate, they are practical. You don't need a car; and an affordable 24H 7/11 is always downstairs. Also you can stay at the cheapest neighborhood and don't get stabbed; can't guarantee the same in NYC/LA/SF.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#83

If someone wanted to take a diversified, low-cost position in office reits, what would one buy?

I don't know if REIT aggressively remark the value of their property to adverse market conditions. I would watch how much they marked down their assets otherwise you might buy at a very overinflated value.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#84
post #77
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm probably wrong, but I feel like in the style of city that urban advocates like "No Just Bikes" advocate for, there would be lots more "ancillary business owners such as meal providers" because the cities would be designed to be walkable and so instead of driving 3-4 miles to the nearest big box car lot you'd walk 1/2 a mile to your local "pedestrian and bicycle only shopping street" with a bunch of small shops, r…

This reads like designing a city for 20-something singles whose highest priorities are nightlife and dining. What about the rest of us?

I'm pretty sure much of the world disagrees with that assessment. Lots 30s and 40 somethings with children and lots of older people living in walkable cities.

The problem in the USA is that there's very little of this style of living. It's all tract housing and suburban style apartment complexes and almost no walkable cities. I'd be nice to have more of them since we already have plenty of suburbs and traffic.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#85
> The plunging US values are being felt around the world because properties in top-tier American cities were once magnets for global investment. Offices were seen as super safe bets backed by high-quality assets with long-term leases and rising rents.

Here we go again.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's still possible to convert to houses, but that makes for ridiculously small liveable areas compared to the whole floor surface. This is only a problem if it's prohibited by zoning. Otherwise it just gets reflected in the price. Houses in the suburbs often contain a large amount of space with no windows, i.e. a basement the size of the entire first floor, and no one objects because it can be used for storage or…

> Otherwise it just gets reflected in the price This is one of my nightmares. What if we allowed people to live in basically confinment cells and they have no choice as they're broke af or the gov or their companies assigns them one in a relocation program. My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting. > Houses in the suburbs often c…

> This is one of my nightmares. What if we allowed people to live in basically confinment cells and they have no choice as they're broke af or the gov or their companies assigns them one in a relocation program.

> My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting.

The social consequences of getting rid of tenements have been people sleeping in tents by the overpass. 7,000 of them in my town of 730,000. (Up from 5,000 three years ago.)

Maybe we should give tenements a try again? It's not like the overpass option is going to go anywhere.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#87
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about just regular apartments in Tokyo/Seoul/HK? Much much smaller than USA apartments.... Also much much cheaper, at least than NYC/SF/LA.

I think having the option of really small low quality accommodation in big cities is good, but let’s not pretend Tokyo/Seoul/HK aren’t just as expensive per sqft as NYC/SF/LA.

Checking online, the average price of an apartment in Santa Monica is $55 per square meter. SF is about $53. NYC is $65. Tokyo is about $27, Seoul is $23

So no, Tokyo and Seoul are not "just as expensive". HK is at $52 though so that was a bad choice on my part.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's still possible to convert to houses, but that makes for ridiculously small liveable areas compared to the whole floor surface. This is only a problem if it's prohibited by zoning. Otherwise it just gets reflected in the price. Houses in the suburbs often contain a large amount of space with no windows, i.e. a basement the size of the entire first floor, and no one objects because it can be used for storage or…

> Otherwise it just gets reflected in the price This is one of my nightmares. What if we allowed people to live in basically confinment cells and they have no choice as they're broke af or the gov or their companies assigns them one in a relocation program. My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting. > Houses in the suburbs often c…

> My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting.

Easily overlooked? Hell no. That would be part of the plan from the start: punish the undesirables for being poor, remind them of their low status in society every single day.

The requirement that rooms designated for living need adequate access to sunlight came out of the desire to eliminate such discrimination.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Big office buildings have very deep plates which make them very difficult to convert to sensible apartment layouts. You can have windowless conference rooms but you can't have windowless apartments.

I’m probably a weirdo, but a bedroom without windows feels like a great way to get the best sleep in an urban environment. Low noise, no light pollution. Kinda a dream really.

I grew up in a converted office-to-house in a bedroom with no windows. The one wall had a number of glass bricks put in to give some light.

A partially troglodyte nerd emerged, it worked out okay.

Re: Commercial property deals in the US are starting to pick up at deep discounts

#90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Otherwise it just gets reflected in the price This is one of my nightmares. What if we allowed people to live in basically confinment cells and they have no choice as they're broke af or the gov or their companies assigns them one in a relocation program. My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting. > Houses in the suburbs often c…

> My gut feeling is that the social consequences would be subtle and easily overlooked by officials but widespread and long lasting. Easily overlooked? Hell no. That would be part of the plan from the start: punish the undesirables for being poor, remind them of their low status in society every single day. The requirement that rooms designated for living need adequate access to sunlight came out of the desire to eli…

> That would be part of the plan from the start: punish the undesirables for being poor, remind them of their low status in society every single day.

As opposed to now, when they have to live under an overpass because they can't afford rent?

> The requirement that rooms designated for living need adequate access to sunlight came out of the desire to eliminate such discrimination.

It came out of a desire to force "undesirables" out of the area by preventing them from being able to afford any of the housing there, along with all of the other requirements that amount to "housing the poorest can afford is not allowed here."

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