In 2014, Canada was the top global investor in commercial real estate in the United States.

According to CBRE, Canada is the most active foreign investor in U.S. real estate, with nearly $10 billion in direct investments in 2014, far outpacing Norway, China, Japan, and Germany. house and lot for sale

In 2014, global direct investment in US real estate totaled $41 billion, accounting for roughly 11% of total investment in US property assets. When compared to 2013, this reflects a 6% rise in global investment.
Last year, Canada was the leading global buyer of U.S. real estate, accounting for 26% of all direct foreign investment, or $9.7 billion. As of mid-January 2015, Canadian investors had already transacted $2.75 billion in US real estate. After U.S.-to-U.K. and Hong Kong-to-China capital flows, Canadian real estate investment in the United States was one of the world’s largest cross-border capital flows in 2014.

Norway was the second-largest foreign investor in U.S. real estate in 2014, with $14.4 billion in direct foreign investment, a 120 percent rise year over year. China and Japan invested a total of $3.8 billion (+6%) and $3.5 billion (+397%) in the United States, respectively, accounting for 9% of the total global investment. German buyers spent $2.9 billion (+5%) on real estate in the United States, accounting for 7% of the total.

“While we’ve seen steadily growing Chinese global investment and oil-rich countries in the Middle East and Norway increasing their allocations to global real estate,” said Chris Ludeman, Global President, CBRE Capital Markets. “Canadian buyers continue to dominate foreign investment in the United States and should remain on the radar screens of American investors and owners of U.S. real estate.”

“Finding attractive opportunities with fair pricing that can yield a favorable risk-adjusted return is a challenge that Canadians, other global investors, and Americans all face. Nonetheless, we anticipate a brisk investment environment in 2015, with U.S. volumes continuing to rise.”

By far the most popular destination for Canadian global capital is the United States. In 2014, Canada spent $22 billion outside of its borders, with 44 percent going to the United States. Australia and the United Kingdom received the next highest percentages of 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively. It’s worth noting that in 2014, the United States’ market share of Canadian foreign investment fell below its 2007–14 level of 48 percent.

“For much of the same reasons as other countries do, Canadian investors find U.S. real estate appealing. The United States provides opportunities for value development, healthy cash flows, and attractive risk-adjusted returns, among other things “CBRE’s Director of Research for Canada, Ross Moore, said. “Canadian investment is strongly correlated with the health of the American economy and exchange rates, but the overarching motivation is that Canadian institutional investors need to look beyond their borders to find product and diversify their portfolios.”

Canadian capital is more widely distributed across the United States than most global capital. Given the size of Canadian investment, its high level of familiarity with U.S. markets outside the gateway cities, and the relatively low cost and time commitment required for Canadian investment professionals to travel to U.S. markets, this should come as no surprise.

New York is the leading destination for Canadian real estate capital across all property categories, as well as overall global capital flows into the United States, followed by Boston and Broward County, Florida, which made the list due to a major hotel acquisition. Seattle is out of the ordinary for a global capital, but it isn’t out of the ordinary for a Canadian capital, considering its proximity to the country and, in particular, Vancouver.