I have a wealthy friend who has made most of his money in real estate. His rule is that he makes all the money he is going to make on the day of purchase. That is, he only purchases properties being sold for less than they will be worth in the near future. That is, his profit comes out of the pocket of the current owner. (Which could be a bank after repo or even a construction firm that didn't get paid by the previous developer.)

Who will "pay" for making formerly useful property useful again? In a free market, that would be the current owners of that property, and that is what should happen here. No one cries for the rich investors who own commercial real estate in big cities.