I keep hearing that empty office buildings are an economic time bomb. I keep hearing that housing inventory is low which is why house prices are high. Why can’t we convert offices to homes?

Question

I keep hearing that empty office buildings are an economic time bomb. I keep hearing that housing inventory is low which is why house prices are high. Why can’t we convert offices to homes?

In: 4298

Answer 1

Kind of like how cars and shopping carts both have four wheels and are used for moving things. If we had a surplus of shopping carts, don’t expect it to help with the shortage of automobiles.

Commercial buildings aren’t homes. You’re just seeing four walls and people inside and thinking “must be the same”. If you’ve ever looked at the price of renting residential vs commercial, it’s substantially more per square area. And for good reason.