NEW YORK CITY-As overseas investors continue their flight-to-quality in core markets, new research from Cushman & Wakefield shows that New York ranks number one as the world’s fastest growing city for commercial real estate investment for the first time since 2007, bumping London out from the top slot this year. The UK city ranked in at second place, followed by Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong.

Manhattan regained its top title based upon a 165% increase in investment activity year-to-date, driven by investor demand for core assets, stable income and diverse product type. “New York is the largest US market, so it is the easiest place to find opportunities,” Nat Rockett, executive vice president at C&W, tells GlobeSt.com.

By the close of the third quarter of 2011, $19.4 billion in sales were completed in New York City, with $3.8 billion currently under contract, compared to $8.1 billion closed by the end of Q3 2010, according to C&W. "New York also throughout its entire history has real rent growth, which most other markets don’t show,” he adds. “In fact, they show rent deterioration over the last few decades where rents stayed essentially the same but expenses have grown.”