[latchkey]

Except that isn't their only choices. It'll depend on their finances as well as the market futures. Many many buildings sit empty for ages for a whole bunch of different reasons. Can't just generalize into a binary like that.

[ImPostingOnHN]

given the choice between no money and money, most will choose money, and no amount of 'it depends' will change that

the fact that some people let some buildings sit empty for some time doesn't mean most will let most sit empty for most of the time

after all, the next best alternative for building owners is foreclosure or abandonment or sale at a loss, the next best alternative for businesses is 1 of a thousand different places, or just a remote workplace

[latchkey]

> given the choice between no money and money, most will choose money

They might not have the choice. Nobody is going to rent ground floor retail space in an area with no foot traffic. It is a race to zero all around.

[ImPostingOnHN]

> Nobody is going to rent ground floor retail space in an area with no foot traffic

of course they will, at a low enough rent, obviously, which is the point: lowering rent is indeed a choice, as is going bankrupt, abandoning the property, foreclosure, or selling it at whatever price

[latchkey]

There is a ground floor retail spot near my house with a for-rent sign on the front, that has been empty for years. People have their reasons.

[ImPostingOnHN]

in that case, the reason is that the owner failed to lower rent, declare bankruptcy, abandon the property, get foreclosed on, or sell the property

let the owner rent it for a dollar a month and we'll see if it gets rented

[latchkey]

You left out one other case... the owner wants a specific tenant or in the example that started this whole thread, a Chipotle.