"Israel, for various reasons, has a number of investors that are awash in money," Schear tells GlobeSt.com. "They are a little bit new at what they are doing in the United States."

Schear says the law firm represents large and small developers who are seeking significant sums of money to pursue projects. With the credit crunch experienced in the US recently, developers are seeking other sources of funding.

And, while Israeli investors have long been active in the Northeast, they are increasingly turning their attention to the Southeast. Schear attributes the shift in part to Delta's recent offering of a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Atlanta. Schear also notes that there are 50 Israeli companies that operate in Atlanta.

"With the start of non-stop air service, Atlanta has become the beneficiary of more Israeli business," he says. "They see the opportunity to do business without having to transfer on a flight."

Schear says the trend is similar to the German investment trend experienced in recent times. "There's a tremendous amount of German money that has come into the country over the past 10 years," he says. "Israel will follow suit."

Continue Reading for Free

Register and gain access to:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.