Sometimes the best way to see oneself is to use another as a mirror. The EU offers that opportunity to the U.S. office market at the moment.

Europe, more intently than the U.S., is trying to reach a net zero carbon level for office buildings, among other property types. However, as Bloomberg noted, it's increasingly hard given the average age of office buildings, the cost of retrofitting, and falling property values.

First, the age of European office buildings. JLL estimates that 30% of European commercial buildings were constructed before 1945. This varies by country. The U.K. has particularly old commercial buildings. Out of 5.9 million buildings, 600,000 — over 10% — were constructed before 1919.

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