New York City Widened its Lead Over Competitors

NYC increases lead over London as top commercial property market


After taking over the top spot for global property investment in the third quarter, New York City widened its lead over competitors. The city attracted $35.7 billion in commercial property sales, including multi-family buildings, compared to $29.2 billion in London and $22.6 billion in Tokyo, according to a global property market report released today by Cushman & Wakefield.

Overall, global sales activity, including multi-family properties, rose 14 percent in 2011 to $808 billion, and the volume is now 83 percent greater than 2009′s lows. Half of all activity occured in Asia, but the North American market showed the greatest improvement in the last year, with investment volumes rising 52 percent. That increased demand led to the greatest compression of yields in the Americans, as capitalization rates fell in the region by 31 basis points, compared to the global average of 20 points. And overseas investors took notice, as the Americas saw a 94 percent increase in cross-border investment activity.

http://therealdeal.com/blog/2012/02/27/nyc-increases-lead-over-london-as-top-commercial-property-market/