The Hancock as harbinger of doom

Newsweek explains why the building churns through owners even as its value collapses, and what that means for the state of American commercial real estate (hint: it's not good):

... The saga of the Hancock Tower may seem like a classic case of how, when you're using lots of debt, the difference between genius and idiocy can be a matter of luck and timing. Highly leveraged bull-market traders always get caught out when there's a swift correction. But among property magnates, Lawlor was merely the first—and he wasn't doing anything the lions of the industry weren't. ...