L.A., Inland Empire Rank As Top Foreign Investment Markets

Los Angeles and the Inland Empire are capturing foreign investment attention. New research from CBRE has found that Los Angeles is second in the nation, behind Manhattan, for inbound investment, with $1.7 billion invested, while the Inland Empire is listed as the top growth market for foreign capital, up 266% year-over-year.

“For each of the last five years, Los Angeles has been a top destination for foreign and domestic investors for a few reasons. First off, it’s one of the six primary gateway markets that still feels “affordable,” Todd Tydlaska of CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “Comparatively speaking. Second, L.A. was late to the recovery this cycle compared with tech-driven markets such as San Francisco, Seattle and Boston. Third, no single industry is leading the economic recovery in L.A. Four, fundamentals are strong and there are significant barriers to entry in the Greater LA market, meaning that investors are underwriting continued strong leasing fundamentals. Five, this area boasts a tremendous population base that feeds the market locally and regionally; and last but not least, the ports of L.A. and Long Beach are a huge driver of economic activity and growth.”

Los Angeles had seen significant investment from Chinese capital, but Chinese government restrictions have limited foreign investment for the last two years. The regulation has had an impact on foreign capital investment in the market, which is a gateway to China.”Capital controls in China have effectively taken the Chinese bid out of the market and also impacted ongoing development projects like the Oceanwide project in DTLA,” says Tydlaska. “Overall, there has been a slow-down as China has made it much more difficult to get money out of the country and into the U.S.” Currently, Canada leads US foreign investment activity, followed by Isreal and Germany.