Under U.S. GAAP, long-lived assets, such as real estate are
reported on the balance sheet at the original purchase price of the
asset. In the event that the value of a real estate becomes
“impaired”—that is, the current market value of the real estate
falls below its original purchase price and is unlikely to recover
the lost value in the foreseeable future—the asset’s book value is
written down to the lower current value and a loss is recorded on
the...