Looking at a report by our commercial real estate research partner, Real Capital Analytics — it says that “Foreign interest in buying US property is high and will grow in 2010. Asian investors will provide some of the newest capital in the market, but German funds and high net worth buyers from around the globe will also be active. The increased capital from Asia that has just started to emerge will particularly benefit the West Coast whereas more traditional European investors prefer the East Coast. Potential changes to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) could remove some barriers that have discouraged foreign investment in the US. Over the past few years, just 10% of US property acquisitions have involved cross-border investors, well below the global average of 28%. A repeal of FIRPTA is unlikely, but one likely change could facilitate greater foreign investment in US REITs, yet another reason why the REIT sector looks so promising for 2010.”

Alex Zylberglait provides commercial real estate investment advisory as well as research, estate planning, asset allocation, valuation, financing, special assets services, transaction advisory and commercial property acquisition and disposition services.