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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

#151

Post by chiefalchemist »

le-mark wrote: post #140
chiefalchemist wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If only they (read: banks and local govs) had financed the construction of more residential, and less commercial the system would be more in balance. As it is, there's a lack of residential supply, and an over supply of commercial. That said, the Fed's addiction to cheap money and other tricks to keep the economy propped up didn't help either.And now we're in a muck and paying for their missteps.

Lowering inflation, strong gdp, and strong jobs growth seems to indicate they’re doing something right. Or did I miss the point (I don’t watch fox)?

They who made inflation rise? And are further squeezing the middle class to strengthen the GDP? And do notice they don't speak of the quality (read: income) of the jobs, only the quantity.

They hide the ugly in those 50k ft aggregate metrics.

Put another way...Trump in some polls is beating Biden. So suddenly it's not the economy, stupid? As it's said, perception is reality.

Healthcare... up.

Cost of automobiles... up.

Cost of food...still up.

Cost of clothing... up.

Wages have not and still don't keep up with inflation.

I trust you see where this is really going.

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

#152

Post by bboygravity »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #151
le-mark wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lowering inflation, strong gdp, and strong jobs growth seems to indicate they’re doing something right. Or did I miss the point (I don’t watch fox)?

They who made inflation rise? And are further squeezing the middle class to strengthen the GDP? And do notice they don't speak of the quality (read: income) of the jobs, only the quantity. They hide the ugly in those 50k ft aggregate metrics. Put another way...Trump in some polls is beating Biden. So suddenly it's not the economy, stupid? As it's said, perception is reality. Healthcare... up. Cost of automobiles... u…

We're supposed to believe that Putin and Covid caused inflation last I read the news.

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

#153

Post by lumost »

danaris wrote: post #147
chollida1 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

THis is a nice thought but rarely happens regardless of zoning. Office buildings floor plates and residential floor plates aren't really compatable. Office buildings have most of their floor plates not around windows, where are residential needs some light. Also water, and sewer need to be retrofitted. The one building that was a successful conversion that I know of cut out the center of the building to create a ligh…

There is an actual solution, at least for buildings that are large enough: Make the whole building mixed-use. Ring the outside with apartments, and keep the inside commercial. Make the whole thing a little community in itself. Just fill the whole center of it with cafés, bodegas, computer repair shops—the kinds of small, locally-owned shops you get in a (healthy) small town or a pre-modern-zoning city area.

Actually a really interesting idea. Not sure why we don't see this in major cities. Effectively this becomes a minimally with apartments. Do residents/businesses simply dislike this arrangement due to lack of foot traffic and noise?

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

#154

Post by packetlost »

danaris wrote: post #147
chollida1 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

THis is a nice thought but rarely happens regardless of zoning. Office buildings floor plates and residential floor plates aren't really compatable. Office buildings have most of their floor plates not around windows, where are residential needs some light. Also water, and sewer need to be retrofitted. The one building that was a successful conversion that I know of cut out the center of the building to create a ligh…

There is an actual solution, at least for buildings that are large enough: Make the whole building mixed-use. Ring the outside with apartments, and keep the inside commercial. Make the whole thing a little community in itself. Just fill the whole center of it with cafés, bodegas, computer repair shops—the kinds of small, locally-owned shops you get in a (healthy) small town or a pre-modern-zoning city area.

I personally would love to live somewhere like that, but I don't see it working out in practice. For starters, discoverability for those interior businesses would be poor. Where would they put their names/signs?

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

#155

Post by epistasis »

tgaj wrote: post #121
chii wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So other than naturally formed caves, everything else is built by, you guessed it, developers. It's just an umberalla term - you might call it builders in some other parts of the world.

It could be a problem of a definition. In my country, a "developer" is someone who constructs buildings not for himself but to sell them to others. If I build a house for myself, then I am not a "developer". The difference is that "developers" only care about profit. For example, I wouldn't want to antagonize future neighbors, but the "developer" doesn't care about that.

You know who else only cares about profit? Farmers. Bakers. Grocers. Etc.

People needs homes. If somebody is "antagonized" because somebody else now has a home, the problem lies solely, fully, and 100% with the person that feels "antagonized." Its not an appropriate or socially acceptable response.

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

#156

Post by sandworm101 »

Retric wrote: post #115
sandworm101 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bedrooms must have windows. That isnt "very dumb". That is based on centuries of knowledge. It is fire code. It is for comfort. It is for health. Some think it anachronistic only because few alive today have ever lived without it. But forgetting the reasons behind a rule does not make that rule unnecessary. And a rule isnt dumb simply because it decreases profit margins. All rules do.

Fire codes require multiple exists not specifically windows that can be used as exists. Which is why people can live on the 30+ floor of buildings without fire escapes. Many people prefer sleeping in rooms without windows or block up existing windows. Historically, these regulations were created to exclude the poor from areas. They do line up with most peoples preferences, but many would rather save in rent vs have a…

A window on the 30th floor certainly isn't an escape route but the requirement does still enforce certain standards that in turn promote fire safety. A window means that every bedroom must be on an exterior wall. That simple rule means one cannot build huge warren-like buildings filled with tiny interior apartments, which would be an evacuation nightmare. The rule also forbids bedrooms deep underground.

Yes, this does make apartments more expensive but so does every rule that sets a minimum construction standard.

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

#157

Post by sagarm »

ryandrake wrote: post #106
refurb wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For a lot of the world that’s the only affordable housing. Single family homes are just out of reach financially. I know in Asian, many (but not all) of the people I know in apartments would love a house but can’t afford it.

I agree. Different people like different environments and living arrangements. One size does not fit all. Personally, I like suburban single family home living, and I would never go back to dense urban apartment living unless I was forced to at gunpoint. Options are good.

And yet it's not possible to build new walkable communities, despite the high price of existing ones indicating there's plenty of demand.

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

#158

Post by jimberlage »

refurb wrote: post #77
nox101 wrote: 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 live in a place like this with multiple kids in my 30s, and it’s fantastic.

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

#159

Post by lamontcg »

Workaccount2 wrote: post #150
xyst wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I suspect return to office (RTO) was pushed so hard. The invisible hands pulling the strings behind these MBA flunkies installed at many companies are whispering in their ears. “We need to offload bad debt. Help us keep the con going just a bit longer so we can offload the toxic assets from the books to another firm or government”

I can 100% assure you that bosses and chairmen want to see their landlords get bent just as much as you do. Rent is very expensive, along with maintaining an office. The idea that RTO is driven by real estate values is so detached and uninformed it's borderline juvenile conspiracy.

A lot of the loudest voices about RTO (e.g. Amazon) own a portfolio of commercial properties and they are the landlords.

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

#160

Post by Xirgil »

packetlost wrote: post #154
danaris wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an actual solution, at least for buildings that are large enough: Make the whole building mixed-use. Ring the outside with apartments, and keep the inside commercial. Make the whole thing a little community in itself. Just fill the whole center of it with cafés, bodegas, computer repair shops—the kinds of small, locally-owned shops you get in a (healthy) small town or a pre-modern-zoning city area.

I personally would love to live somewhere like that, but I don't see it working out in practice. For starters, discoverability for those interior businesses would be poor. Where would they put their names/signs?

I would look to the signage in Tokyo for an example. The buildings have columns of signs listing the floor each one is on. Definitely not what we're used to which might hurt adoption at first, but it works for them.
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