The clock is ticking as the nation's $117 billion dollars in mortgage-debt is coming due.
Office mortgages in 2024 could hit the economy as so many workplaces remain empty echo chambers trying to come back from the work-from home pandemic-influenced trends .
Concern over what looked like a great investment a couple years ago when interest rates were low is growing with the number of floors.
"I heard someone say the other day three-quarters of downtown [Houston] office buildings are underwater, which is to say there is more debt on them than they are worth," says Houston commercial real-estate Moody Rambin Vice president Jay Wall.
Loans having to be refinanced might not be on firm ground.
"Interest rates have trebled, " says Wall. "They've gone from almost 3% to 9%. They're up more than 500-something basis points. It's ugly."
If too many default at the same time it could rattle the U.S. economy.
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