Florida Commercial Real Estate - Many Areas See An Influx Of Overseas Investors

n a recently released report by private real estate analyst Real Capital Analytics', in terms of global property market transactions, the South Florida region ranks 15th worldwide in the level of commercial real estate deals.

The report is among the first to comprehensively track commercial real estate transactions in major metropolitan areas around the world, and has tracked a total of $1.04 trillion in office, industrial, hotel, retail, land and apartment sales globally in 2007. A total of 114 metropolitan areas had more than $1 billion woth of commercial property market transactions.

How Foreign Investment Is Shaping In Some Areas Of Florida

Foreign investment in most of the state, according to analysts, has been cyclical over the years, pointing to the nationwide savings and loan collapse of the early 1990s, in which outside investors, in which some of the were foreign, came in and got great deals in the overbuilt commercial sector. According to state industry observers, the metropolitan Ocala area for example, would probably be look attractive for institutional or foreign investors, not because of any negative consideration, but simply because of the lack of a critical mass, notes some analysts.

It's also less likely that a pension fund is going to invest in a building in Ocala than in Orlando or Tampa, and some note that for smaller communities you're more likely to see smaller groups investing in smaller properties. Market watchers say that there does appear to be an increase in foreign investment in commercial properties in southwestern, central , southern and eastern Florida these days. Most say that weak dollar is a major factor, along with the strong euro, and ongoing political and economic instability in Latin America, where most nations have sizable immigrant populations in the state.

South Florida Region Ranks High Among Overseas Commercial Real Estate Investment

The South Florida region is ranked as the 15th-largest metropolitan area in the world for commercial real estate investment, and is also seen as one of the most desirable markets, wherein a large number of conglomerates have expressed the desire to invest there. South Florida's rising popularity as an international travel, trade and investment haven creates familiarity among foreign investors, the report adds.

The positive notion also helps to considerably lower the notion of the region as an investment risk, since the area' s commercial leasing, sales and consumer markets are not just totally dependent on local economic conditions and demand. The region's emergence in the investment world scene parallels its rise as an international hub of commerce. The Real Capital Analytics' report further adds that the bottom line is that South Florida, with its strategic location, has become more of an attractive destination for international trade and commerce investments.

Of five sectors in the commercial real estate market - apartment, hotel, industrial, office and retail - the recent global commercial property sector report shows the most staggering increase in the retail sector of the Florida commercial market, with foreign investment shooting up from just around $194 million in 2004, to almost $900 million in mid-2007 and early 2008.