Global Investors Want to Buy Real Estate

A growing number of investors are ready to buy commercial property, according to Colliers International’s Global Investor Sentiment 2011 survey. Seventy-one percent of investors surveyed said they are most likely to expand their real estate portfolios during the next six months, and 16 percent indicated that they are somewhat likely to do so.

Most of the investors surveyed are focused on investing in their own regions. U.S. investors are targeting property in California, Texas, New York/New Jersey, and Washington, D.C., and more than half the U.S. investors surveyed are ready to move out of their comfort zones in search of higher returns.

In terms of property types, hotels and residential property are the most coveted assets among Middle Eastern respondents. European investors named office assets in London, Hamburg, and Paris as prime acquisition targets. Beijing and Shanghai office assets, along with Indian residential property, are continuing to generate interest among Asian investors.

However, nearly 50 percent of investors surveyed said that a lack of supply impedes their expansion plans, and 22 percent noted that access to financing is still a problem.