In Business Insider

If demand for storefronts is down, why don't landlords just lower the rent and get a tenant in there? That's supposed to be the magic of capitalism — its ability to auto-adjust to anything the world throws at it. But that's not what is happening with vacant shops. Even before the pandemic, one study found, street-level retail spaces in Manhattan were remaining vacant for an average of 16 months.

So if COVID isn't to blame for all the shuttered stores, what is? Well, when a landlord doesn't lower the rent to get a new retail tenant, it's because that landlord can't. The market that sets retail rents isn't only between tenants and landlords. It's also between landlords and the banks that finance the buildings. And the banks, in many cases, won't let property owners lower their rents enough to fill their properties. The pandemic may have emptied out America's storefronts, but it's banks that are keeping them that way.

In January 2020 the median home price was $266,300, according to the National Association of Realtors. It's now $406,700 as of July – a 52% increase.

The White House hopes the initiative will alleviate both these problems, creating more housing and revitalizing the commercial real estate sector.

"This presents an area of opportunity to both increase housing supply while revitalizing main streets. It's a win-win," Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, told ABC News.

Conversions are faster than new construction, 20% cheaper, and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the White House added.