About $24.8 billion of US office buildings were in distress at the end of the second quarter, surpassing previous leading commercial real estate laggards — hotels and retail properties. The total value of offices that were financially troubled or already repossessed by lenders shot up about 36% from the first quarter, MSCI Real Assets reported Wednesday. At the end of June, $22.7 billion of retail properties — including malls — and $13.5 billion of hotels were in distress. The total for all troubled commercial properties was almost $72 billion, up 13% from the first quarter. “The office sector was responsible for the ... (full story)