Foreign Investors Move Away From Gateway Cities And Take Aim At Secondary Markets
Foreign investors have been shoveling money into US commercial property for years, usually only in top-tier gateway cities like NYC and S.F., but now one big foreign investor is making moves in secondary markets.
Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund just bought a 49% stake in a portfolio holding seven office buildings in Phoenix and Dallas, the Wall Street Journal reports. And while the deal isn’t record-breaking—the total portfolio is worth $250M—it highlights how foreign investors are starting to stash their cash beyond just the nation’s big coastal cities.
“We think these little cities have more promising opportunities,” says Mahmood Hashim Alkooheji, CEO of Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Holding fund, explaining what may be the first move of many as investors seek higher returns by diving deeper into the nation’s heartland. [WSJ]
