U.S. CRE Still a Top Pick for Foreign Investors, AFIRE Survey Indicates
Before COVID-19 spread, foreign investors continued to view U.S. commercial real estate as a safe haven.
March 9, 2020 | Nareit
Foreign investors continue to view U.S. commercial real estate as a solid investment, with multifamily and industrial properties remaining their favored picks, according to the results of the 28th annual survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) and the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate at the Wisconsin School of Business. Survey participants pointed to low interest rates, continued capital markets liquidity and the low U.S. unemployment rate as reasons for their confidence in the performance of U.S. real estate assets. (Since the initial survey was conducted before COVID-19 became an issue of global concern, the organizations are now conducting a follow-up survey on its potential impact on investment trends).
In all, 72 percent of AFIRE’s survey respondents indicated that they viewed the overall U.S. commercial real estate market as being as attractive as it was in 2019. Eight percent of respondents view it as even more attractive investment option than before, while 19 percent indicated it was less attractive this year than the last.
Those who view U.S. commercial real estate as being more attractive pointed to the market meeting investor yield expectations and being considered a safe haven for capital, healthy property fundamentals and lower hedging costs.
