CBRE: Middle East investors to pump $15 billion annually into global real estate
First quarter saw Middle East investors buy $5 billion of property in Europe and the US
Middle East investors are likely to invest an average of $15 billion annually in global real estate over the next few years, according to CBRE.
A report by the property firm forecast that Middle East investors will target a more diverse geographic area over the next 6 to 12 months, with less focus on Europe and a shift to the Americas.
Investors from the region pumped $5 billion into the property market in the US and Europe during the first quarter of 2015, CBRE said.
While London continues to dominate with a 32% share of outbound investments from the Middle East, that is lower than the 45% recorded in 2013. Paris follows with a 15.8% share of investments, followed by New York with 9.6%.
Sector preference will also grow more diverse, with more focus on hotels in the next 12 to 18 months, CBRE said.
“The Middle East will remain one of the most important sources of cross-regional capital in the global real estate market,” said Nick Maclean, managing director of CBRE Middle East.
“The weakening of oil prices is likely to lead to the sovereign wealth funds reducing their total spend but we see strong growth in overseas investment from families and other institutions, in many cases, for the first time.”
Sovereign wealth funds are however expected to remain a strong force in global property, with CBRE expecting $7 billion to $9 billion per annum to flow into the market from Middle Eastern funds in the near- to mid-term.
