Friday, January 29, 2016

Government Funds Invest $380 Million in Milan Properties

Government investment funds in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Azerbaijan have invested a combined $380 million in three different properties in Milan, Italy. According to a Wall Street Journal report, The State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ) jointly with the sovereign-wealth funds of Abu Dhabi and Qatar will use the funds to both buy and develop the properties in the fashion hub; individual transaction details were not disclosed by the funds. The properties include:

SOFAZ is buying the Palazzo Turati at Via Meravigli 7, an office property in Milan's historical Central Business District, for €97 million, marking the fund's first real-estate purchase in Italy;

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agreed to buy a 1960s building in the Italian northern city, which Milan-based Corriere della Sera newspaper said will be demolished and replaced by a new tower;

and Qatar Investment Authority completed a deal to acquire the historical building that housed BNL's (a subsidiary of BNP Paribas) headquarters in Piazza San Fedele in Milan.

All three assets will be managed by Italian property company Coima SGR, according to a person familiar with the transactions. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Citigroup Buying Back HQ from SL Green for $2B

In its fourth quarter investor calls, SL Green Realty Corp. disclosed that Citigroup, Inc. has exercised their option to purchase 388-390 Greenwich Street for $2.0 billion. The closing is scheduled for December 2017. On Thursday, SL Green executives on a quarterly conference call with analysts said the deal would be profitable for the company. "It allows us to close out a very profitable position, investment position, we took in the asset," said Marc Holliday, SL Green's chief executive. He also noted the transaction "will result in a reduction of indebtedness."

Citigroup previously sold the two-building, 2.6 million-square-foot Tribeca complex to SL Green and Ivanhoe Cambridge, a unit of the Société immobilière Trans-Québec (SITQ), for $ 1.58 billion in 2007. Citigroup continued to lease space after the sale through a 15-year leaseback arrangement, and occupies the complex as the headquarters for Citigroup's divisions of Global Wealth Management and Global Trading. 388 Greenwich Street, originally called the Shearson Lehman Plaza, and more recently the Travelers Building, is a 496-foot, 38-story postmodern office building completed in 1988 and designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. 90 Greenwich Street comprises 10 story building covering a total area of over 2.6 million square feet.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

CCRSI Price Indices Reflect Strong Year in the CRE Market

CoStar Group has released its year-end Commercial Repeat-Sale Indices (CCRSI), which showed double-digit price growth at the end of 2015 in all regional and property types across the U.S. commercial real estate markets. The CCRSI provides the market's first look at December 2015 commercial real estate pricing, noting that "improving CRE fundamentals, surging investor demand and liquid capital markets propelled the CCRSI composite indices upward in 2015. Demand for core property assets was especially strong." An excerpt from the summary follows:

December transaction activity remained true to its seasonal pattern observed over the last several years, spiking in the final month of the year as investors raced to close transactions prior to year-end. The December composite pair volume of nearly $18 billion was the highest monthly total on record, helping lift total 2015 volume to $128.3 billion, a 26.2% increase from the previous peak reached in 2014.

While pricing in core U.S. markets set records in 2015, investors moving out on the risk spectrum in search of higher yields resulted in equally strong sales activity in non-core markets and property types, as reflected in the equal-weighted U.S. Composite index. Heavily influenced by lower-value properties typical of those in secondary and tertiary markets, the equal-weighted U.S. Composite Index rose 12.6% in 2015 and is now within 3.4% of its previous high water mark.

To review the CCRSI and accompanying graphs, click here. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Pope & Land Sells Barrett Lakes Center

Atlanta-based developer Pope & Land Enterprises has completed the sale of Barrett Lakes Center, a three-property Class A office development within Atlanta's Town Center office submarket. The three-building property traded hands for an undisclosed sum with Adventus Realty Services taking ownership of the 100% leased Class A complex. CBRE's Will Yowell, Justin Parsonnet, and Jay O'Meara represented Pope & Land Enterprises in the transaction. Pope & Land is the original owner and developer of Barrett Lakes Center. Mason Zimmerman, managing partner of the ownership entity, P&L Barrett, told GlobeSt.com there are very few assets of this size and quality in the Atlanta metro area in which the original developer and owner has been consistently involved for almost 20 years.

"It was a tough decision to sell," said Will Yowell, CBRE Vice Chairman. "With all three buildings full, rents rising and minimal lease expirations throughout the portfolio, combined with cap rate compression and a tight submarket, it was the right time for us to sell. CBRE generated a tremendous amount of interest in the asset from investors across the country. Ultimately, we chose Adventus and we couldn't be happier with our selection. They understand and appreciate the asset and they are absolutely the right buyer to succeed us in ownership."

The purchase marks Adventus' first venture in Atlanta, and the area and asset provided a core-plus investment opportunity for the firm to enter the market. "We felt confident about this purchase, considering the historical success of the office development and the demand in Town Center," said Rodney Johnston, President and CEO of Adventus Realty Services, in a press release. "We knew this was a property that had been well taken care of, as Pope & Land saw the development from the ground up and created a desirable office environment. Atlanta is a target market on our radar, and we are pleased to kick-start with Barrett Lakes Center."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Princeton Pike Corporate Center Trades Hands

Bloomfield, NJ-based Prism Capital Partners announced the sale of Princeton Pike Corporate Center, an eight-building, 800,000-square-foot office park in Central New Jersey's Mercer County for an undisclosed price. The property previously traded in 2013 when Brandywine Realty Trust sold the complex to Prism Capital Partners and Angelo Gordon for $121 million, or $151 per square foot. As the operating partner, Prism Capital Partners launched a series of upgrades after purchasing the property, including tech updates and new entrances and amenities. Joe Garibaldi, Tom Walsh and Michael Fenton of Jones Lang LaSalle brokered Princeton Pike Corporate Center's sale to Lenox Drive Office Park LLC.

"We added tremendous value during our ownership of Princeton Pike Corporate Center," said Edwin Cohen, Prism Capital Partners principal partner. "The improving economy brought renewed velocity to the office leasing market, and we capitalized on that through significant capital improvements and aggressive leasing."

"Our purchase acumen was proved correct through the considerable profit we earned," added Eugene Diaz, another Prism principal partner.

Constructed on 100 acres between 1984 and the early 1990s, Princeton Pike Corporate Center's class A office buildings range in size from the 97,000-square-foot 997 Lenox Drive (Princeton Pike 3), to the 180,000-square-foot 1009 Lenox Drive (Princeton Pike 4). The eight buildings each feature central atriums, onsite café and fitness centers, on-site management, and offer close proximity to area hotels. The property was 90% leased at the time of sale, with major tenants including Wells Fargo, Ken Clark International, Stark & Stark, the Princeton Healthcare System, Fox Rothschild, Citigroup, MetLife, Philadelphia Insurance Co., and Ono Pharma USA.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Jade Enterprises Buys LA Office Portfolio

Los Angeles-based Jade Enterprises, specializing in real estate investment and property operation, has completed the purchase of a five-property office portfolio in West Los Angeles, California. While terms of the deal or a final price for the portfolio were not disclosed, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF) announced that its investment sales team, led by senior managing directors Ryan Gallagher and Todd Tydlaska and director Andrew Harper, represented the seller, Equity Office, in the transaction.

Jade Enterprises purchased the 350,000-square-foot office portfolio free and clear of debt. The recently-renovated portfolio, which was 91% leased at the time of sale and each building about 15 minutes from the Los Angeles International Airport and the Santa Monica Airport, includes:

Beverly Atrium
350 South Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills
64,526 square feet of space, originally built in 1989

2730 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica
Offers medical and office space over 58,359 square feet

1950 Sawtelle Boulevard in Los Angeles
Built in 1985 with 105,698 square feet

Bentley Building
11075 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles
4-story office building with 35,696 square feet of space

Bristol Plaza
6167 Bristol Parkway in Culver City

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Legg Mason Acquiring Clarion Partners

Global asset manager Legg Mason Inc. announced that it has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Clarion Partners, the New York-based real estate firm that manages approximately $40 billion across the real estate risk/return spectrum. Under the terms of the deal, Legg Mason will acquire an 83% ownership stake in Clarion Partners for $585 million, and pay for its portion of certain co-investments on a dollar for dollar basis, estimated at $16 million. Clarion Partners was represented by Morgan Stanley, King & Spalding and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, and advised by Grail Partners. RBC Capital Markets and Azrack & Co. served as financial advisors to Legg Mason.

"Clarion Partners, with a focus on strong performance through market cycles, a positive growth profile and differentiated product offerings, brings an important alternative asset class to our portfolio of investment managers. Whether they seek growth, capital preservation or income, we are further able to offer our clients investments with attractive solutions. Most importantly, the experienced management team at Clarion Partners shares our passion for innovation, the creation of exceptional value through responsible investing principles and focus on excellence for clients. We welcome them to Legg Mason," said Joe Sullivan, Chairman and CEO of Legg Mason.

Clarion's previous majority partner, private equity firm Lightyear Capital, will sell its entire ownership stake in the transaction. Lightyear will continue to be "very active in the asset management space," said Mark Vassallo, managing partner of Lightyear Capital. Clarion will join Legg Mason as one of its independent investment management affiliates, and the management team (a significant number of which have signed long term contracts in conjunction with the transaction) will retain 17% of the outstanding equity in Clarion Partners. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

MetLife & NY Pension Fund Form $1.4B Real Estate JV

MetLife, Inc. announced this week that it had formed a joint real estate venture with New York State Common Retirement Fund, including an initial investment portfolio of seven properties valued at more than $1.4 billion. The portfolio, which MetLife sold a 49.9% stake in to the public pension fund, will be managed by MetLife Investment Management (MIM). The initial portfolio's properties are the PNC Centre in Chicago, Wells Fargo Center in Miami and other properties in San Diego, Atlanta, Arlington, VA, Dallas and San Jose, CA, according to a Pensions & Investments article.

We are very pleased to partner with the New York State Common Retirement Fund on investing in this portfolio of high quality real estate properties," said Robert Merck, senior managing director and head of global real estate for MetLife, in a press release. "We share a strategy of investing for the long term, and we look forward to growing this equity real estate portfolio with them for many years to come." The insurer, which is seeking to expand in asset management, expanded its real estate joint venture in 2014 with Norway's sovereign wealth fund, investing in properties in San Francisco and Washington, according to a Bloomberg report. The announcement of the fund also comes a week after MetLife said it plans to separate a big portion of its U.S. retail business as it fights federal regulators over its "systemically important financial institution" (SIFI) designation.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

EverWest Buys Arapahoe County Business Park for $190M

Denver-based EverWest Real Estate Partners along with Miami’s Independencia Asset Management has completed the purchase of the Panorama Corporate Center, a 780,649-square-foot, six-building, Class A office campus in Centennial, Colorado. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. brokers John Jugl and Mary Sullivan represented the seller, Miller Global Properties, LLC, in the sale, and also helped EverWest and Miller secure a 70%-LTV, 10-year, full term interest only, fixed-rate acquisition loan at 4.78 percent through an unnamed national investment bank, according to a press release. The property last sold in 2013 for $145 million to Miller Global Properties, according to Arapahoe County property records.

Developed between 1996 and 2008, the Panorama Corporate Center spans 42 acres at the southwest corner of Interstate 25 and Dry Creek Road, adjacent to the Dry Creek light rail station in Centennial, a southeast suburb of Denver. Its six office buildings total 780,000 square feet, putting the sale in the neighborhood of $242 per foot, according to a BusinessDen article. The property was 94% leased at the time of sale with major tenants including United Launch Alliance and Comcast.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Beige Book Looks "Expanded, Upbeat" for 2016 CRE

The Federal Reserve has released the latest Beige Book, summarizing how the economies in the Fed's 12 districts are performing, which finds that the reporting districts are "generally upbeat." With respect to real estate, the data indicated that activity was generally improved over the last Beige Book, with stronger activity cited for multifamily construction and commercial real estate. Overall, most districts reported that loan demand grew, credit quality improved, or loan delinquencies fell, with credit standards changing little. An excerpt from the summary follows:

Most reporting Districts characterized nonresidential real estate activity as modest to moderate; Boston and New York indicated little change. Rental rates rose in more than half of the reporting Districts, and vacancy rates were mixed. Most Districts reported modest or moderate growth in commercial construction, and the Dallas District noted high levels of industrial construction in Dallas-Fort Worth. Contacts in the Atlanta District expect construction activity to increase slightly, while contacts in the Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Richmond Districts expect overall commercial real estate activity to continue to strengthen at least modestly.

To read the full January 13, 2016 Federal Reserve Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District, click here. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Friday, January 15, 2016

CalPERS Picks Up Chicago Data Center for $18M

TechCore, LP, a $1 billion discretionary core real estate fund managed by San Francisco-based GI Partners on behalf of California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), has completed the purchase of a Chicago data center for $17.8 million, according to public records. The 107,000 square-foot building was sold by Pi Data Holdings LLC, a Pennsylvania-based venture backed by private investors, which paid $10 million for the property in 2011. TechCore, formed in 2012 to acquire technology-advantaged properties, receives the property after Pi Data spent nearly $6 million renovating the two-story building. Full terms of the deal or representation in the transaction were not disclosed.

"We are pleased to own 601 W. Polk and form a long-term relationship with TierPoint," GI Principal Mike Armstrong said in a statement. "The facility's robust infrastructure, connectivity and location make it an attractive addition to the TechCore portfolio. We actively track the Chicago market, a top-tier data center market with attractive fundamentals, and are excited to complete our first acquisition in the (metro area)."

601 West Polk Street was originally developed in 1918 as a warehouse for Marshall Field's, built with 18 foot ceilings and reinforced floors to accommodate large merchandise and the horse-drawn distribution networks of the early 20th century. In more recent decades it fell vacant and served as a movie location, until Sprint moved in in the 1990s and it became a "carrier hotel". In 2011, it was purchased from bankruptcy by AlteredScale. The property is currently fully leased to TierPoint, a St. Louis-based operator of data centers and cloud computing provider that bought out AlteredScale.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Avison Young Releases 2016 CRE Forecast

Avison Young has released its 2016 Canada, U.S. and U.K. Forecast, suggesting that stakeholders "will need to keep a global perspective, stay abreast of changes in the broader environment and, increasingly, devise innovative solutions to complex problems." The company's annual report looks at commercial real estate markets in 55 metropolitan regions in Canada, the U.S. and U.K., analyzing activity from 2015 and prospects for the year ahead. For the U.S. office markets, Avison Young saw overall vacancy declined 60 bps year-over-year to 12.4%, in 2015, with all but six markets recording lower rates when compared with year-end 2014. At year-end 2015, the amount of office space under construction in the U.S. had increased to almost 86 msf (52% preleased), up from 68 msf one year earlier; however, according to Avison Young, there is no real threat of oversupply in the near term.

Avison has forecast "modest improvement" in the U.S. office vacancy rate in the coming year, noting that absorption may be tempered by tenants shifting to smaller and more efficient footprints. "From an occupier perspective, we have seen a slight decrease in capital deployment, primarily related to economic uncertainty, and the occupier tendency toward risk aversion, shorter leases and optimization of space usage may continue in 2016,"said Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations for Avison Young.

To read the full Avison Young forecast, click here. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

CT Realty Buys Industrial for $34M

Aliso Viejo, California-based CT Realty announced that it has purchased a 339,264-square-foot industrial building in Poway, California for $34.05 million. CT Realty purchased the property from Cohu Inc., a leading supplier of semiconductor test and inspection handlers, micro-electro mechanical system test modules, test contractors and thermal sub-systems used by the global semiconductor industry, which currently uses the building as its headquarters. CBRE represented Cohu in the transaction, while CT Realty was self represented; terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Located at 12367 Crosthwaite Circle in the Poway Business Park, the property is one of the largest industrial buildings in northeast San Diego County. "Large industrial assets available for purchase in the Poway submarket are becoming increasingly rare due to strong market fundamentals and a lack of existing product,” said Steve Provencio, director of acquisitions for CT Realty. "The opportunity to acquire the Crosthwaite property with a long-term Class A tenant and solid upside potential for the remaining space made this property extremely attractive." Cohu will continue to lease nearly half of the building for another 10 years; CT Realty said in a press release that it would demise the remaining 192,629 square feet to accommodate one or two light manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, or R&D tenants.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Shorenstein Buys 1700 Market in Philadelphia

Shorenstein Properties, the San Francisco-based real estate investment company, announced that it has completed the purchase of 1700 Market Street in Philadelphia’s Center City submarket. Shorenstein Properties purchased the 848,000-square-foot building from a partnership involving New York's Nightingale Group and investor David Werner for just under $200 million, according to an REBusiness article. Terms of the deal and representative information was not disclosed.

1700 Market Street was constructed in 1968 and is located on the southwest corner of Market and 17th Streets in the heart of Center City. The building has an attached 5-story parking garage with a 720 car capacity, and is considered among the top 10 office buildings that make up the Class A office segment of the market. The building was 87% leased at the time of sale, with major tenants including Deloitte & Touche, OSIsoft, AIG Life Insurance, and Blue Cross; Shorenstein said it plans to invest capital to further improve 1700 Market’s tenant appeal. A roughly 30,000-square-foot addition has been planned for an existing plaza area that will house two restaurants -— lll Forks and Cantina Laredo.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Westchester Reveals Plans for $1.2B Valhalla Biotech Center

At the Westchester County Association Breakfast in New York, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino unveiled a plan for a bioscience complex in Valhalla. Developed on 20-acres of land owned by the developer, Fareri Associates, the complex would include a biotechnology research facility, medical offices, a children's science center and supporting hotel, retail stores and restaurants on the Grasslands Reservation. According to a report from The Journal News, Astorino said Fareri Associates was proposing to invest up to $1.2 billion in the complex near the Westchester County Medical Center. The project is subject to approval by the Town of Mount Pleasant and could take 18 months to complete.

"We look forward to working together with the county in developing this unique and exciting Bioscience & Technology Center that will create thousands of new construction and permanent jobs, while positioning Westchester County at the forefront of the region's emerging new economies," John Fareri, president at Fareri Associates, said in a statement.

Westchester County Association President and CEO William Mooney Jr. hoped the proposed development would build upon the county's growing life sciences industry, which includes several Montefiore locations, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in West Harrison and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Tarrytown. "This is a sector that the WCA has fostered over the years," Mooney said. "This project will add to and complement the many world-class organizations … that already call Westchester home."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Normandy Buys 18th Street Office Building

Morristown, NJ-based Normandy Real Estate Partners announced this week that, in partnership with Japan's NTT Urban Development, it had closed on the acquisition of 1015 18th Street, NW Washington, DC. The 11-story office building, with an additional 3 floors below ground and 121 parking spaces, was sold for $49.9 million, according to a Nikkei Asian Review article. The property previously sold for $27,600,000 on December 18, 2003. This is the third partnership between Normandy and NTT and is the first in the District.

The 106,000-square foot Golden Triangle office building is located 1.5 blocks from Farragut North and West Metro Stations and was built in December 1970, and later renovated in 1986. Normandy plans to commence a major renovation of the property, which underwent an energy audit in 2010, to transform the asset and help "accelerate leasing velocity on the vacancy." Donohoe Real Estate Services, who represented the unnamed seller in the transaction, has been retained by Normandy as landlord’s leasing agent and anticipates delivering spec suites to the market early this year.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

CRC Real Estate Buys the Centrum North Building

Centrum North BuildingReal estate brokerage firm NAI Capital announced this week that it had arranged the sale of the Centrum North Building, an eight-story Class A medical office building in Orange, California. The Centrum North Building was sold to CRC Real Estate Corporation, an affiliate of CHOC Children's, for $43,950,000 or approximately $245 per square foot. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but NAI did note that the seller, 4128 Wilshire, LLC, was represented by CBRE in the transaction.

"Due to its proximity to CHOC Children's Hospital, this acquisition is strategic for both the long-term growth of the hospital and as an institutional quality investment," said Sonya Dopp-Grech, senior vice president and director of healthcare services group at NAI Capital. "The purchase of this building, located across the street from our main campus, supports our organizational strategies and the growth needs of CHOC's pediatric system of care," added Kerri Ruppert Schiller, senior vice president and CFO, CHOC Children's.

Built in 1985, the Centrum North Building at 1120 W. La Veta Avenue offers approximately 179,279 square feet of space and located within a prominent cluster of medical service providers, including CHOC Children's Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital. The building has a modern red brick and black glass façade, with a soaring two-story lobby and an adjacent five-story parking garage.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Boston Properties' Back Bay MU Project

Boston Properties, Inc., an REIT that focuses primarily on the Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco markets, and Whitehall Street Real Estate Limited Partnership IX, an affiliate of
Goldman, Sachs & Co., announced that they have submitted a letter of intent with Prudential Insurance Company of America to acquire the commercial property and development rights associated with the Prudential Center located in Boston's "Back Bay" office and residential neighborhood. MassDOT approved long-term leases of the four air and ground parcels at 145 and 165 Dartmouth St. to Boston Properties in December 2014; Boston Properties and Whitehall are seeking approval for development rights that would allow approximately 1.75 million gross square feet of new commercial construction, with two office buildings totaling 1.72 million net rentable square feet, a 477,000 net-rentable-square-foot retail complex and a parking garage with 2,700 spaces.

The letter is, of course, non-binding and doesn't ensure that an agreement will be reached to move forward with the companies' plans, but Prudential officials noted in a press release that the decision to move into exclusive negotiations now with Boston Properties and Whitehall was made for "strategic reasons." Brian Murphy, Managing Director for Prudential general account real estate investments, said, "From the beginning of this marketing process, we have been interested in alternatives to a straight cash sale. We believe in this property's potential for favorable investment returns well into the future, and we want to participate by retaining a stake -- directly, indirectly or both." David Raszmann, Prudential Vice President in charge of the property, added, "Prudential Center is indisputably the hub of Boston's Back Bay, and is one of America's best-recognized landmarks. Neither we, nor generations of Bostonians want that to be disrupted. The name Prudential Center will remain as part of the final deal."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Monday, January 4, 2016

2016 AFIRE Foreign Investment Survey

The Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) has released its 24th annual survey of members which shows that 64% of respondents say they expect to have modest or major increases in their investment in US real estate in 2016, with another 31% indicating they expect to maintain or reinvest their investments. According to the survey, none of the members, who are among the largest international institutional real estate investors in the world and have an estimated $2 trillion or more in real estate assets under management globally, have plans for a major decrease in the US commitment. The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2015 by the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business.

"The investment opportunity is the United States, itself," said James Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE, in a press release. "The real estate fundamentals are sound; the economy continues to remain strong; there are opportunities across all sectors of the real estate spectrum and in both gateway and secondary cities. The recent legislation bringing welcome relief from certain FIRPTA taxes should provide additional incentives for foreign investment into the US. In an environment that is regarded both as the safest and most secure in the world, with a strong currency and the best opportunity for capital appreciation, the US is the safest harbor."

Highlights of the AFIRE survey include:

  • 60%t of respondents said the US was the country providing the most stable and secure real estate investments. By comparison, Germany, which came in second, had only 19% of the vote.

  • With 46% of the vote, the US was also cited as the country providing the best opportunity for capital appreciation. Brazil, second in this category, received 17% of the vote.

  • 85% of respondents said their perspective on the viability of the US real estate market was unchanged over last year, although 80% of respondents said it was "very" (35%) or "somewhat" (45%) difficult to find attractive US real estate investment opportunities.

To reviews graphs of the survey data, click here. For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.