One possible reason for foreign investors' muted interested in the local apartment assets is that the suburbs offered the best deals in 2016. Foreign investors typically prefer assets in core markets.

The District saw only 14 major sales for the year, or 16% of the region's transactions, while the suburban markets captured 88% of the region's volume for the year, according to the report.

It is telling that transaction volumes for apartments in the area remained strong despite foreign investors' muted interest. There were $6 billion in sales for the year. That is 31% less than the $8.6 billion in 2015 — however a good bit of that last year's activity included several portfolio sales.

It is also telling that during the fourth quarter, the average price per unit was $207,967, up significantly from $196,888 per unit a year ago.

Interestingly, it appears that while foreign buyers are not closing on apartment sales — they are interested in our local assets and that interest could be driving up prices. To give one example, In the District, the Manor at Blair Park recently sold to its tenants through TOPA but stiff competition including from international buyers drove up the price, according to Greysteel's Kyle Tangney. Some 30 tours of the property were conducted during the marketing campaign and the then-owner ultimately received more than 10 offers.

“There were more than a few bidders that had access to foreign capital,” Tangney told GlobeSt.com recently.

WASHINGTON, DC–For some reason or reasons, foreign investors had little appetite for the Washington DC area's multifamily asset class last year.

Foreign investment accounted for only 4% of apartment sales in 2016, down from the 15% in 2015 and below the 6% across the US in 2016, according to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

Admittedly, Washington DC in general appeared to have lost favor with foreign investors, according to the latest AFIRE survey, with the city moving from eighth to 15th place among top global cities for international investors.

But as NGKF noted in its report, foreign interest in the Washington DC region's office assets remained strong in 2016 with foreign buyers accounting for 37% of office sales, up from 23% in 2013. “This percentage is also nearly double the ratio of cross-border office investment experienced throughout the United States, at 21% for 2016,” the report said.

One possible reason for foreign investors' muted interested in the local apartment assets is that the suburbs offered the best deals in 2016. Foreign investors typically prefer assets in core markets.

The District saw only 14 major sales for the year, or 16% of the region's transactions, while the suburban markets captured 88% of the region's volume for the year, according to the report.

It is telling that transaction volumes for apartments in the area remained strong despite foreign investors' muted interest. There were $6 billion in sales for the year. That is 31% less than the $8.6 billion in 2015 — however a good bit of that last year's activity included several portfolio sales.

It is also telling that during the fourth quarter, the average price per unit was $207,967, up significantly from $196,888 per unit a year ago.

Interestingly, it appears that while foreign buyers are not closing on apartment sales — they are interested in our local assets and that interest could be driving up prices. To give one example, In the District, the Manor at Blair Park recently sold to its tenants through TOPA but stiff competition including from international buyers drove up the price, according to Greysteel's Kyle Tangney. Some 30 tours of the property were conducted during the marketing campaign and the then-owner ultimately received more than 10 offers.

“There were more than a few bidders that had access to foreign capital,” Tangney told GlobeSt.com recently.