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Inbound
Outbound
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top 10 capital flows by country
U.S. investors remain enthusiastic about international industrial real estate. U.S. investment in foreign industrial assets increased by 84% year-over-year and accounted for 42% of total U.S. outbound capital in H1. Multifamily investment decreased the most of any sector, but this was due to a record-setting student housing portfolio acquisition in H1 2020. U.S. outbound capital to multifamily assets in H1 was the second highest first half on record and 30% higher than the H1 average over the prior five years.
H1 2021 | U.s. outbound investment trends
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TOP DESTINATIONS
London $1.1B
Paris $857M
Dublin $694M
TOP DESTINATIONS
Puerto Rico $12M
TOP DESTINATIONS
Tokyo $678M
Sydney $555M
Hong Kong $326M
Note: All figures in U.S. dollars. Includes entity-level deals unless stated otherwise. Transactions include office, retail, industrial, residential/apartment and seniors housing. Development sites are excluded. 5-Year Delta is H1 2021 vs. the H1 average from 2016-2020. Source: CBRE Research, Real Capital Analytics, August 2021.
Outbound by Sector
CANADA
EMEA
APAC
Latin America & the Caribbean
SOURCES OF INBOUND CAPITAL TO U.S.
TOTAL OUT OF U.S.
$23.1B
$20.8B
vs.
H1 2020
H1 2021
$411M
$19.0B
$3.7B
$12M
vs.
H1 2020
H1 2021
TOTAL INTO U.S.
single ASSET/PORTFOLIO
ENTITY LEVEL
$11.6B
$12.4B
$0.0B
$0.0B
SEATTLE
$570M
ATLANTA
$788M
Dallas
$1.1B
Northern New Jersey
$564M
single ASSET/ PORTFOLIO
ENTITY LEVEL
$217M
$5.1B
$2.7B
$3.6B
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
SAN JOSE
$941M
country
AMOUNT
% OF TOTAL
$5.1B
43.4%
CANADA
Saudi Arabia
$1.1B
9.3%
Bahrain
$514M
4.4%
Switzerland
$457M
3.9%
South Korea
$812M
7.0%
Mexico
$160M
1.4%
japan
$202M
1.7%
israel
$233M
2.0%
Singapore
$1.5B
12.7%
U.K.
$648M
5.6%
destinations of U.S. outbound capital
country
AMOUNT
% OF TOTAL
U.K.
$9.2B
39.8%
Germany
$2.2B
9.6%
Netherlands
$1.1B
4.9%
Italy
$716M
3.1%
Sweden
$816M
3.5%
France
$1.5B
6.5%
Australia
$717M
3.1%
Japan
$1.3B
5.8%
Ireland
$1.2B
5.3%
DENMARK
$831M
3.6%
The U.K. remained the top destination for U.S. outbound capital by a wide margin in H1 and received the largest share of U.S. investment in every sector except hotel. Relative to the H1 average over the prior five years, U.S. investment in the U.K. was up by 128% in H1. France was the only other top five U.S. capital destination with H1 investment above the five-year average (8%), with U.S. investment in the other three countries (Germany, the Netherlands and Spain) down by an average of 31%. Australia, which ranked as the 10th destination for total investment over the prior five years, attracted significantly more U.S. capital than in recent years and accounted for two-thirds of the total H1 year-over-year increase in APAC.
Major Capital Destinations, 5-Year Trend*
*Top 5 countries based on total U.S. outbound capital between 2016 and H1 2021.
$0.0
Copenhagen: 207%
Sydney: 148%
Hong Kong: 140%
Barcelona: 117%
Dublin: 74%
H1 2021 vs. H1 AVG.
Paris: 5%
London: -14%
Berlin: 0%
Madrid: -56%
Amsterdam: -46%
H1 2021 vs. H1 AVG.
by Total Investment Over Past 5 Years
(volume in US$ Billions)
By Growth Rate from 5-Year Average*
(volume in US$ Millions)
*Top 5 for percentage change from 2016-2020 H1 average. Limited to markets where H1 2021 U.S. outbound volume >$250M.
The top five foreign markets for U.S. investment (based on total capital from 2016-2020) have seen steadier capital flows during the pandemic than the top U.S. markets for inbound capital. Outbound capital in H1 2021 was higher than the past five years’ H1 average in Paris, flat in Berlin and down modestly in London. Moreover, the H1 2021 totals for the top five markets likely are understated because individual assets within large nationwide portfolios (of which there were multiple in the U.K., Germany, the Netherlands and Spain in H1) are not broken down by specific markets in the EMEA region.
TOP Markets
-16%
-15%
305%
-3%
-8%
-4%
-28%
-67%
-74%
54%
5-Year
128%
-11%
8%
54%
183%
-31%
121%
37%
47%
-31%
5-Year
TOP DESTINATIONS
Toronto $225M
Montreal $90M
Calgary $21M
Oakland
$725M
AND
OUT
by Total Investment Over Past 5 Years
(volume in US$ Billions)
By Growth Rate from 5-Year Average*
(volume in US$ Millions)
*Top 5 for percentage change from 2016-2020 H1 average. Excluding entity-level volume. Limited to markets where H1 2021 inbound volume >$250M.
Richmond: 1395%
Oakland: 342%
Northern NJ: 325%
Baltimore: 252%
San Jose: 224%
H1 2021 vs. H1 AVG.
Manhattan: -91%
Los Angeles: -73%
Seattle: -27%
San Francisco: -96%
Dallas: -15%
H1 2021 vs. H1 AVG.
Relative to the past five years’ H1 average, inbound capital in H1 2021 increased in just 12 of the top 50 U.S. markets for inbound capital and was down by an average of 61% in each of the top five U.S. markets. Those with the strongest growth from the five-year average were all adjacent to top gateway metros: San Jose and Oakland (San Francisco Bay Area), Northern New Jersey (New York City) and Richmond and Baltimore (Washington, D.C.). This reflects the pandemic-era shift away from dense urban centers and into lower-cost peripheral markets.
Top Markets
Investors from Canada, Singapore and China deployed more capital in the U.S. in H1 2021 than in H1 2020. The U.K., which ranked 10th for total inbound capital over the prior five years, was the only other country in the top 10 with higher year-over-year investment, up by 94% in H1. Nonetheless, investment was down from the 2016-2020 H1 average for every top 10 source of inbound capital over the prior five years.
*Top 5 countries based on inbound capital between 2016 and H1 2021.
Note: Excluding entity-level volume.
Major Capital Sources, 5-Year Trend*
Foreign investment in the U.S. was down in H1 2021 for every major sector, both on a year-over-year basis and relative to the H1 average over the prior five years. U.S. industrial, which has been the most resilient sector during the pandemic in terms of real estate fundamentals, attracted 21% less foreign capital in H1 2021 than a year ago, given high prices and intense demand from domestic investors. Office had the smallest year-over-year investment decrease (-5%), signaling that the sector may be stabilizing.
Inbound by Sector
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H1 2021 | U.s. Inbound investment trends
Disclaimer: Information contained herein, including projections, has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. While we do not doubt its accuracy, we have not verified it and make no guarantee, warranty or representation about it. It is your responsibility to confirm independently its accuracy and completeness. This information is presented exclusively for use by CBRE clients and professionals and all rights to the material are reserved and cannot be reproduced without prior written permission of CBRE.