Empty office buildings won't be the solution to the US housing shortage

• The US housing market faces an inventory shortage, but empty offices don't offer a solution. 
• Goldman Sachs strategists say that offices can't be cheaply or easily converted into residential units. 
• The bank expects office vacancy to rise from 13.5% this year to 18% in the next decade.

A cocktail of headwinds has kept housing unaffordable for many Americans, but the increasing number of empty offices is unlikely to bring any meaningful relief to the supply-starved market.