LOS ANGELES—For Middle Eastern investors in commercial real estate, the US has been the leading destination country over the past 12 months, with London the top city, CBRE said Tuesday. While outbound investment from the region has tapered somewhat compared to the 2015-2016 period, nonetheless it represents 8% of the global total for cross-border sales.

In all, Middle Eastern buyers put US$10.1 billion into commercial property investments outside their home countries between the second quarter of 2016 and Q2 of this year. One-sixth of that total, or US$1.68 billion, went to London acquisitions. New York City and Washington, DC, with tallies of US$820 million and US$469 million, respectively, are also leading city markets. The US itself represented US$3.9 billion of the trailing 12-month total, or more than a third.

“Investors from the Middle East remain active buyers in the global real estate market and continue to target core assets with long leases in safe-haven locations,” says Chris Ludeman, CBRE's global president, capital markets. “The recent decline in oil price only strengthened the case for investors to diversify their income streams, both in terms of asset classes and geographies; they are taking a long-term view.”