Among the nine most frequently represented nations—which also included Japan, Bermuda, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Germany and the United Arab Emirates—US investment as a percentage of the global total varied. While nearly all of Japanese investors' YTD cross-border property investments occurred in the US, Singapore's tally of $1.74 billion was less than 10% of its YTD worldwide total of nearly $20 billion.

In the eight largest US markets that DTZ tracks, non-American investors were the biggest net buyers at $4 billion in the 12 months between mid-year '13 and mid-year '14, in a reversal of the trend seen last year. Despite being the most active, domestic investors became net sellers at $5 billion.

“Nearly half (47% or $9.2 billion) of non-North American investment came from internationally sourced capital, including some US-headquartered fund managers who raised capital in multiple jurisdictions,” says Ed Wlodarczyk, DTZ's head of capital markets, Americas. Twenty-seven percent of the capital targeting the main eight cities originated from Asia Pacific.

“China represented the biggest investor by source with close to $1.6 billion invested, reflecting a similar trend in Europe,” Wlodarczyk says. He notes that Chinese investors have been active in all eight of the market DTZ tracks: New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston and Washington, DC. “European capital represented a further $3.3 billion of investment, with Norway acquiring office properties in Washington, DC and San Francisco.”