Economists doubt that a ‘doom loop’ will hit office real estate

A panel of experts on Thursday said that it was an overstatement to say that the office segment of the commercial real-estate market was in “a doom loop.”

Downtown office buildings in many cities have dropped in value with shifts in work behavior. Values of office buildings already have fallen an estimated 35% since peak pandemic levels. Fears of rising defaults on loans tied to the properties are also rising, causing stress on banks.

But…