Third-tallest tower in Los Angeles sells for 45% less than last purchase price as remote work, interest rates drive down office values

Any company that thinks remote work isn't the future is going to suffer dramatically over the next decade unless they adapt.
- I just started a gig at a company that doesn't really know how to do remote work well, but that basically told me that they were having trouble finding candidates so they had to start looking for remote.
  I recently left a gig that sold their offices off so even employees in the area don't have an office to go to anymore and everyone is remote. They've lost some Product/Manager people over the decision, but have otherwise seen an uptick in productivity and morale.
  
  I just recently got laid off, and the industry I work in doesn't have a huge presence in my city so I was pretty bummed. I was expecting a long, difficult hunt for a new job (I have zero interest in moving).
  But boom, first job I applied for, I got. It's located in the next province over, but it's full remote. Cost of living is way cheaper here so I got a big raise and my new employers are probably still chuckling about how cheap I am. A win for everyone.
- Only if enough companies offer fair remote work. If 90% of them stick to work from office culture war, what are you going to do? Not work? I can quit my job and have a new one by the end of the day. I would still struggle to find remote work in a reasonable time frame. I'm not willing to blow my savings on it so I stick with job O enjoy that offers hybrid.
  
  I’m ok with the current status quote. The problem with fully remote work is there’s always someone cheaper, whether by skill, experience, desperation, or cost of living. It will be another race to the bottom, like the first few decades of outsourcing, and high cost of living cities would be hardest hit
  Because I’m partly remote and have to be located near an office, I still get the pay structure of where that office is. I still enjoy my Boston area high cost of living pay. If we were fully remote, would they really pay that? What happens to high cost of living cities, much less any city? While I like to think I have excellent skills that are worth the extra pay, there’s no way I can claim to be worth, say two similar guys in Austin, or four in Alabama. There’s no way I can live where i do if I were paid like a lower cost of living area …. And that’s before you even consider the rest of the world.
  
  You look for remote work while currently employed. That's ideally how you switch jobs in general.
  
  I think it also depends on your amount of experience and if you have a unique skillset. If you have truly rare skills that a company needs, it's hard for them to not give into your demands.
  Also, with the older style managers and CEOs retiring, dying off, etc, I think remote work will continue being more common than you'd expect.
  With that said, it always helps to have some bargaining power.
- I want it to be true but I also see the world. In my line of work in my country (science and not exactly commercial) the consensus seems to be "remote work was a disaster, let's not" up to explicitly forbidding remote/hybrid seminars.

Good. Aren't we supposed to be excited at the "free market" at work?

Good. Fuck the commercial real estate industry.
- Fuck the realestate industry period. It shouldn't be commodified to the point where there are more empty houses up for rent, airbnb, or sitting empty as "investments" than there are homeless. Foreign companies are allowed to buy up realestate and literally extract wealth from the country for something that's supposed to ultimately be owned by the country (hence no escaping property taxes or eminate domain)... It's such a limitedly regulated mess that any such "free market" cannot responsibly control.
  
  We should ban foreign nationals and corporations from owning real estate here, with reasonable exceptions.
  
  Remember that not every unit the census counts as vacant can have someone move into it. Their definition is honestly kinda weird. Some units are under construction or repair. Some are legally tied up in a divorce or estate sale. Some actually have people in them, such as non-dormitory student housing or housing for seasonal workers.
  According to the census, 14.5% of vacant units for rent are vacant for less than a month, and 20.6% are vacant for more than one month but less than 2. The median vacancy has been on the market for 3.7 months, and less than 20% of vacancies have been on the market for more than 1 year.
  Having a lot of units on the market for a month or two is a good thing; it means people can move to an area and find housing. You're not going to house homeless people by sticking them into an apartment for a month or two between paying tenants.
  It's also a good thing because low vacancy rates are associated with rents going up. And the rent being too damn high increases homelessness.

Good.
- This is great! Only the rich suffer!
  They surely won't find other ways to make up this loss of wealth. And they surely won't take it out of our hides.
  Trickledown economics only flows up.
  
  Maybe they'll start investing in single family homes instead
  
  They'll extract everything they can from us under all circumstances.
  At least this way they get less.

Good.

Good.

Let's buy one and convert the entire building into one giant laser tag arena.
- Can part of it be skatepark laser tag?
  
  Yeah that's on the 2 levels below the Blade vampire nightclub Laser tag floor, above the bouncy castle kingdom.
- It's be more useful to turn it into an apartment complex, but way more fun to turn it into a giant laser tag arena
  
  We can compromise and do both. It's definitely big enough for both.
  
  I can't say for this specific building but sadly for many office buildings it would be cheaper to knock them down and build an apartment building than convert them. I know it is dumb but true.
  
  We'll just buy the building next door and turn that into apartments.
  
  I’d live in a place with laser tag downstairs, the profits go toward upkeep.
  Just keep two levels of storage between to buffer the sound.
- Or a giant indoor maze that takes multiple days to finish. Elevator to the top, pack in a backpack or supplies. Complete challenges for coins that can be used at 'trading posts' or too unlock levels. Have trick stairwells and stuff, levels that dead end where you have to go back up and find amother way down.
  
  imagine the maintenance costs, staffing, pee in corners, insurance policies, people freaking out, fighting, etc

Convert it to vertical indoor farming.
- Or maybe housing or both
- The hard part will be water lines for so much active water use. A sink and a few toilets is one thing but rigging an irrigation system that also has drainage for leaks or overflows requires space and lots of upfront renovation costs that will be paid back over a very long time. It's a difficult financial proposition.
  
  You’re not running showers out whatever that needs fresh water and the goal would be to reuse that water over and over. You only need to get the water in there to begin with, then your pumps will move it around.
- Because there’s a massive homeless crisis in downtown LA and people need food, not to be forced to commute into the most congested area of the city to stare at hungry people. So maybe they should make food there too.
- Love the idea, but how much CO2 you willing to put into that project? It's gonna cost. Big time.
  Ever built or installed anything? It costs far more energy to retrofit than to burn it down and start fresh.

I don't think a lot people would be averse to 100% working in the office if the commute was a fifteen minute walk. For most, it's the time, hassle, and expense of commuting that is a drain on their soul. Of course there are other factors, but in my experience, gathering at the water cooler and lunch with coworkers, etc., are sorely missed. Just not enough to justify hundreds of hours of my life in gridlocked traffic.
So, if they convert a few of these buildings to homes and parks that make living in the city affordable and pleasant, I think most people would be glad to use the rest as workplaces. Imagine a park and daycare for the kids only an elevator away. Eateries and shops in walking distance. No need to own a car.
We could have that if we get our act together. Now's the time.
- Exactly. Spending 2 hours out of each day stuck in traffic for only a 20mile drive is psychotic.
  LA's transit system, hell even the idea of a central 'downtown', was never designed for effective mass transit. The metro rails that are expanding are better, but I know so many people that refuse to use it out of fear of being stabbed or mugged, the disgusting homeless encampments that are around the parking lots of the stations, etc..
- They don't even have to convert the entire space, just start incorporating mixed use spaces more so people have the option to live closer or in the actual building.
- It's not just the distance. I don't want to work in an open office environment 5 days a week. I also get a full kitchen at home instead of a microwave. I can start dinner or keep an eye on a smoker while working at home. Yes it would be nice to have more social experiences with coworkers, but it's also extremely helpful to be able to isolate from coworkers when focus is needed.
  
  I hear that. Having children and pets is also better when you're home.
- It sounds like you want to live and work on a business campus.
  
  Or Europe. /waves from Europe
  
  If I ignore all the problems with company towns, it sounds perfect tbh
  
  Mixed neighborhood ≠ business campus.

Holy fuck! Wins are rare, but they are nice to see.
Here's hoping this is the start of a trend. Next step retrofitting.

Good.

Business is risk. Anyone who says otherwise is selling you something.
- Unfortunately, these days, that usually means, "we're willing to risk as many of our employees as we can."

Good.

Good, fuck your commercial real estate investments, you greedy disaster profiteering fucks.
Also, how much tip would you like to leave for reading this post I wrote?
20%
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Good!

It is going to be interesting to see what happens to the downtown areas of major cities over time. Many of them, like mine, are pretty dead after work hours and on weekends, and have been like that for years.
- Almost like the idea of downtowns as "work zones" fed by commuter residential suburbs was a stupid idea, and making them unliveable by all but the chronic homeless is a problem.

Yes, another "good" comment here. Fuck any company or team that could support remote work but chooses not to

Need to make everything multizone. Our zoning is ridiculous in the us.

Good

Good

I call bullshit on remote work being the sole reason.
Remote work is a choice. Some want to work remotely, and some prefer a flexible hybrid model, where they can come into an office.
Obviously, there's a lot of office space around, but I would bet my left nut that there are plenty of companies that would love some prime LA real estate, especially companies outside of the US that would love a presence in the country.
So, the problem isn't remote work, it's prohibitive rent, whether logistics or prices. I know that American's aren't fond of immigration, but this would probably solve the rental problems, and restrict some of the brain drain that comes from people not needing to be in LA to work.
- Rent is the primary factor for sure, but I think you're downplaying the impact remote work has, and/or not realizing the demand from employees for remote work. Many are taking pay cuts if they can remote work, and that does affect the labor market.

I don't feel sympathy to these landlords that do business in this way

There is am major problem with real estate right now which may play 9ut at the banks.