Global property investment up to $1350bn despite economic uncertainty

Global property investment has increased to $1350bn in a year of economic uncertainty, according to property consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield in its ‘Winning in Growth Cities’ report, a survey of annual global commercial real estate activity.

This figure included a 0.5% rise in investment up to June of this year.

The report revealed the US had seen the most robust growth over the past 12 months, with 15 cities making the firm’s top 25 large gateway cities list. The list named the top cities for global investors excluding development sites, ranking New York, London, Paris, Los Angeles and Amsterdam as the top five.

New York has taken London’s top spot, with investment volumes in the UK capital falling from $39bn to $25bn. This illustrates the wider trend highlighted in the report of crossborder flows growing faster in American and Asian markets than in Europe.   

The firm’s top 25 ranked cities also increased their share of the market this year. “During the 12 months to June 2016, the largest gateway cities increased their share of the market, with the top 25 drawing in 53.3% of all global spending, up from 52.7% in the previous year,” the report said. “Ten of the top 25 cities by foreign investment were in EMEA, nine in North America and six in Asia-Pacific.”