5 US Apartment Markets That Overseas Investors Love

Global capital to the US multifamily sector decreased by 27.3% to $10.7 billion in 2019, largely due to a sharp decrease in portfolio deals from an exceptionally high level in 2018, according to CBRE. For single-asset deals, however—a better measure of investment momentum because of less volatility from year to year—inbound capital increased by 3.8% to $6.1 billion.

There were five US markets that attracted much of this investment. They were: Washington, DC, ($780 million), Atlanta ($711 million), Austin ($627 million), Houston ($607 million) and Los Angeles ($591 million).

Rounding out the top ten were Phoenix, at $2.5 million, Boston at $2.1 million, Austin at $2 million, Denver at $1.9 million and Houston at $1.8 million,

Orlando tops the list of up and coming growth markets for global capital providers with an annual gain of 231%. Charlotte posted 70% year-over-year growth, Nashville 67%, Northern New Jersey 65% and Las Vegas 64%.

These sources came from Canada, a perennial leader, which remained the biggest foreign capital source last year, accounting for more than half of inbound multifamily investment volume. Bahrain, Israel, the Netherlands and the UK rounded out the top five, but were distant followers.

Another attribute noted by CBRE: Global investors have a distinct preference for large assets. Almost half of cross-border capital for US multifamily last year targeted assets priced at more than $200 million.