US Leads for Mideast Outbound Buyers

“It is becoming increasingly challenging to secure core assets with long leases in the current market environment,” Ludeman says.

LOS ANGELES—For Middle Eastern investors in commercial real estate, the US has been the leading destination country over the past 12 months, with London the top city, CBRE said Tuesday. While outbound investment from the region has tapered somewhat compared to the 2015-2016 period, nonetheless it represents 8% of the global total for cross-border sales.

In all, Middle Eastern buyers put US$10.1 billion into commercial property investments outside their home countries between the second quarter of 2016 and Q2 of this year. One-sixth of that total, or US$1.68 billion, went to London acquisitions. New York City and Washington, DC, with tallies of US$820 million and US$469 million, respectively, are also leading city markets. The US itself represented US$3.9 billion of the trailing 12-month total, or more than a third.