Bonds

Office Loan Trouble Signals Problems Ahead for a $650 Billion Bond Market

Downtown Seattle on Friday, May 17, 2024Photographer: M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg
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When three Seattle office buildings a short distance from Amazon.com Inc.’s headquarters defaulted on $135 million worth of commercial mortgage debt last month, it left bond investors who financed the properties facing a long and uncertain slog to claw back money.

The buildings, owned for years by developer Martin Selig, became the latest additions to a pile of soured business property loans that is now as large by some measures as it was during the pandemic.