“very difficult” to find attractive U.S. real estate

The weak dollar has made the American real estate market look attractive to foreign bargain hunters.
The U.S. rose to the top of lists of the “most stable and secure” countries for real estate investment and the countries with the best opportunity for appreciation, according to the 16th annual survey of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE)released Jan. 28. New York City and Washington D.C. were the top two global “Cities for Foreign Investors’ Real Estate Dollars,” according to the survey.

Most Stable and Secure Countries for Real Estate Investments1. U.S. – 56% of vote2. Germany – 11% of vote; up from #3, with 4.5% of the vote in 20063. United Kingdom – 8.8% of vote; down from #2, with 11% of the vote in 20064. Australia – 8.8% of vote; up from #5, with 3% of the vote in 20065. Japan – 5.3% of vote; with 3% of the vote [tied with Australia], unchanged from 2006

U.S. SnapshotTop U.S. Property Types Within the U.S. property market, the most dramatic change was a total reversal of investors’ preferred U.S. property types, with every property category shifting and, most dramatically, office properties falling into fifth place and retail properties rising to first. 1. Retail – from 5th place in 20062. Hotels – from 3rd place in 20063. Industrial – from 4th place in 20064. Multi-family – from 2nd place in 20065. Office – from 1st place in 2006

• On average, survey respondents say that slightly more than 50% of their real estate planned acquisitions in 2008 will be allocated to the U.S. While the percentage allocated to the U.S. remains roughly the same as 2007, the actual dollar amount is expected to increase by 16%.

• The percentage of respondents saying it was “very difficult” to find attractive U.S. real estate fell to 22.8% from 37.5% in 2006. This represents the smallest percentage expressing this sentiment since 2003.

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