A report from Real Capital Analytics looks at which cross-border buyers continued to be active in the U.S. in the first half of the year
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the performance of U.S. real estate assets and put a serious damper on foreign investment activity in the first half of the year. A report from data firm Real Capital Analytics (RCA) estimates that foreign investors represented 8 percent of all U.S. investment sales closed in the second quarter of 2020, down from a three-year average of about 12 percent. Nevertheless, some well-capitalized cross-border investors continued to be active stateside in the first six months of 2020, and patterns emerged among the flows.
For example, multiple Canadian and German investors made the list of top 20 cross-border buyers in the first half of 2020, in addition to firms based in Singapore and South Korea. Some of the firms made the list due to deals that were agreed on at the end of 2019 and closed in 2020. But many continued to pick up assets through the spring and summer months.
Here’s a look at who made the top 20 list and what types of assets they have been buying.