Survey Says Foreign Investors Love LA, Too

LOS ANGELES-For the first time in half a decade, results of an annual survey say foreign investors consider LA one of the nation’s most promising commercial real estate markets.

The 10th annual survey by the Washington, DC-based Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate says the nation’s capital and New York are in a tie for the top spot. Then comes Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and LA.

The survey was conducted in early October among AFIRE members by Kingsley Associates, a real estate research firm. AFIRE members have more than $172 billion invested in cross-border real estate nationally and more than $272 billion globally.

Exactly 45% of the survey’s respondents said that their primary reason forinvesting in US real estate was a favorable risk-adjusted return. Other reasons included market fundamentals (36.5%), stability (23.5%), and diversification (20%). But only 10% cited the US economy as a reason for investing in US property.

“Among foreign investors, US real estate remains an opportunity for all theright reasons,” says James Fetgatter, the association’s CEO. “Although a handful of respondents expressed a cautious, wait-and-see attitude over the short term, the majority of comments were essentially bullish on US real estate as a long-term opportunity.”<p