A few years back, I attended a number of meetings that focused on how U.S. investors could make quick money by investing in foreign real estate. This is not the getaway cottage on Ireland, mind you, but apartment complexes in Prague and warehouses in Bangladesh.

With the fall of communism, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union were open, although corruption and no notion of property rights made those investments risky. However, the higher the risk, the bigger the profits to investors.

To make things easier of U.S. investors, the National Association of Realtors negotiated agreements with the fledgling residential and commercial real estate associations in these countries to make transactions with them easier, and to reduce the risk.

A lot of the shine came off the apple when the Asian markets stumbled in the fall of 1998, taking Russia and a lot of other weaker economies with them. What’s more, the events of 2001, understandably, have made us wary of foreigners and their money. However, foreign investors haven’t given up on us, and even though we are as vulnerable to terrorism as just about every other country, we still provide a safer haven and offer more opportunities for investment than anywhere else.

Foreign investment built this country. The railroads were financed by the English and the Germans, for example. European investments paid for Western expansion in the 19th century. However, since 2001, there have been efforts to restrict direct foreign investment. The government, concerned about security, has proposed tightening tax and disclosure laws that would make it more difficult for foreign investors to do business here, something the NAR strongly opposes.

Which countries invest the most money in U. S. real estate? In 2001, Japan alone contributed 26 percent of direct foreign investment, followed by Canada at 14 percent. Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom accounted for 29 percent. Latin America contributed 15 percent.

In 2001, these countries accounted for 84 percent of the $44 billion in direct foreign investment in real estate. Africa’s investment numbers are negligible, and the amount coming from the Middle East fell sharply after 1995. Overall direct foreign investment in our economy, including real estate, reached $1.499 trillion in 2001.

That’s 82 percent more than the total of $824 billion in 1997.

Foreign investment comes from both private and public sources, but private foreign investment has fast outpaced official investment by almost 2-1 over the last few years. And such investment will continue, at least in the opinion of our major investors, unless the government steps in to build roadblocks in the name of security.

The Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate conducts an annual survey of its members as a guide to investors. This year’s survey reported that despite the terrorist attacks, the United States remains one of the strongest commercial real estate choices in the world.

New York and Washington rank second and fourth, respectively, among the top five cities in which to invest. London leads the list with Paris in third and Tokyo fifth. According to the survey, 45 percent of the respondents listed their reason for investing in the United States as “favorable risk-adjusted return,” while 36.5 percent like the U.S. market fundamentals, 23.5 percent see its stability as a primary factor, 20 percent named diversification as their motivation, and 10 percent listed the U.S. economy as drawing their investment dollar.

James Fetgatter, the association’s chief executive, cited a survey respondent’s comment that “real estate in the U.S. benefits from political and economic stability, population and job growth, and a transparency of information and data.”

The following are few of the questions asked in the survey:

Which country provided the best opportunity for capital appreciation? Forty-nine percent responded the United States, followed by Japan with 16 percent of the vote.

Which country provides the most secure and stable real estate investment? Fifty-eight percent said the United States, followed by the United Kingdom with 18 percent of the vote.

Which country has the best risk-adjusted potential return from real estate investments? Sixty-seven percent answered the United States, followed by the United Kingdom with 8.2 percent of the vote.

The favorite U.S. city for investment found New York and Washington tied, with Boston, second, Chicago, third; San Francisco, fourth, and Los Angeles, fifth. Multi-family was the preferred type of real estate investment, followed by offices, industrial, retail and hotel, according to the survey.

Published: November 29, 2002

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