U.S. Real Estate to Draw More Foreigners in 2016, Survey Says

Most foreign investors expect to put more money into U.S. property this year than they did in 2015, with New York remaining the top target market worldwide, according to a survey by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they intend to make modest or major increases to investments in U.S. real estate this year, while 31 percent expect to maintain their holdings or reinvest sales proceeds into other U.S. assets, according to the 24th annual survey by the group, known as AFIRE. None of the respondents plans a major decrease. About half of the group’s roughly 200 members participated in the survey.

“This is a very strong response,” Jim Fetgatter, chief executive of Washington-based AFIRE, whose members hold about $2 trillion of real estate globally, said in a phone interview. China’s economic slowdown, Brazil’s recession and Europe’s immigration crisis underscored for international investors that “the U.S., at the moment, really is the safest place for them to go.” Read More…