U.S. Office Buildings Face $1.1 Trillion Obsolescence Hurdle
- As tenants favor new towers, 30% of properties are at risk
- Steep value declines are pushing some landlords to walk away
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One of the tallest office towers in St. Louis lost 96% of its appraised value. Denver’s former World Trade Center complex faces foreclosure. An oil company’s vacant Houston workplace sold this year at a $67.4 million loss to lenders.
Those properties are among the 30% of U.S. office buildings -- worth an estimated $1.1 trillion -- that are at high risk of becoming obsolete as tenants’ tastes change in the hybrid-work era, according to Randall Zisler, an independent consultant and former head of real estate research at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.