US Remains Top Real Estate Pick for Global Investors in 2012, For Now

The United States still leads the pack when it comes to global real estate investing in the commercial sector, but investors warned that the repeal of a 1980 foreign investment tax and rent and occupancy growth over the coming year would still have a major effect on their investment decisions, reported the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE)[1]. Should the U.S. government continue to penalize foreign investors, it’s possible that commercial properties in Brazil could look more attractive as the months go by. Currently, Brazil ranks second, behind the U.S., in terms of offering the “most stable and secure option in commercial real estate.” However, not all analytics firms agree that the U.S. is number 1, with Real Capital Analytics ranking the country second, behind the UK. However, most sources agree that the U.S. will likely remain more attractive than Brazil at least in the short term because Brazilian properties are already “fully priced” and offer less room for appreciation[2].

At the time of publication, AFIRE’s survey respondents held $338 billion in U.S. commercial property, and 60 percent of those respondents plan to increase those holdings in 2012.

Do you think that the U.S. real estate markets can hold their own against emerging markets like Brazil in 2012?

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[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/01/us-commercialproperty-survey-idUSTRE80002P20120101

[2] http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/01/01/Survey-US-Is-Top-Commercial-Property-Pick.aspx#page1