The slight change, Afire leaders say, is the result of the commercial real estate market's further globalization. Still, Afire estimates that its members' procurement in the US is expected to reach $19 billion this year. Germany will remain the lead investor among international real estate buyers, but Australia will tighten the gap by providing 40%of the estimated investment. Germany is expected to provide 49%.

"Depending on an investor's risk appetite, real opportunities to invest now exist in many different regions and product types," says newly elected Afire chairman Mark Baillie, who is also Macquarie Real Estate Inc.'s head of real estate for North America and Europe. While investors' will turn more of their attention to other regions, their confidence in the US market has never been higher. Seventy-four percent of survey participants, compared to 60.7% in 2005, report that the US offers the most secure environment for investment. "For many reasons including transparency, market fundamentals, and the sheer size of the market, foreign investors have expressed an extremely high degree of confidence in the US real estate market going forward."

Washington, DC remains the number one city for investment in the US. It also takes the number two spot in the global category behind London.