U.S. Cities Dominate Foreign Investors’ Top Global Picks

Source: HousingWire

By a wide margin, foreign investors see the United States as the most "stable and secure" country for real-estate investment, according to a new survey from the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate. Overall, the United States was ranked as one of the hottest investment markets for industrial, office and multifamily real estate. The cities of New York, San Francisco, Houston, and Los Angeles were rated to be particularly appealing, but the survey found an increasing interest in cities beyond these major destinations.

Making sense of the story

• In the 12 months that ended March 2013, foreign buyers spent $68.2 billion on single-family homes in the United States, or about 7 percent of all home sales.

• According to the survey, the United States is seen as the best market in terms of capital appreciation and for real estate purchases in 2014.

• Thirty-nine percent of survey respondents have a more optimistic perspective than they did a year ago regarding the U.S. real estate market.

• More than 80 percent of respondents in the survey indicated they will increase their portfolio size in the United States. Thirty-one percent are planning a “major net increase.”

• Attraction to certain cities in the U.S. directly reflects the propensity for real estate investment to follow jobs, in this case,    technology and energy.

• Multifamily units were the top property type preferred by foreign investors, followed by industrial property.