Chicago Loses Ground in Race for Foreign Investors' Preferences

CHICAGO-Last year, Chicago ranked fifth behind New York, Washington, San Francisco and Boston as the top choices for foreign investors in the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate’s annual survey. This year, it squarely is among a “third tier” of cities AFIRE members see as the best prospects for commercial real estate investment.

“It’s not that Chicago has changed that much. It’s just that New York and San Francisco have bumped up so high,” James Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE, told GlobeSt.com. Boston and Washington make up the second tier of cities in the eyes of foreign investors, he added, with a sharp dropoff in interest to the third tier.