Richard Bloxam

London remains the largest commercial real estate investment market in the world after knocking New York from its perch in 2017, according to a new survey by JLL. Overall, global CRE investment volumes totaled $733 billion last year, up 4% from 2017 and clocking in at the best annual performance in a decade. However JLL projects 2019 investment volumes will be approximately 5 to 10% below the 2018 total, driven by investor caution and selectivity.

Many investors are still favoring the same cities to which they have always gravitated—cities that are well-established and have high levels of transparency. London, New York, Paris, Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Washington DC, Sydney, Singapore, Toronto and Munich have appeared in the top 30 ranking every year for the past decade and account for 30% of all real estate investment. “Investors remain focused on gateway cities, despite tight pricing,” said Richard Bloxam, Global Head of Capital Markets. “Many are looking at alternative or emerging locations, as well as varying real estate property types within these cities, rather than exploring other less familiar cities.”