Real Estate Investment Is The Safest Venture This Year, Study Shows

Colliers International revealed that 2016 may be the best year to place your hard earned cash on real estate, a report from Forbes disclosed.

According to Colliers Global Investment Outlook forecast, which was released on Monday, real estate investment may be the safest venture. With reference to last year's investment activities, primary target markets will continue to draw the most interest considering moderating risk appetite, stable economic conditions, and low interest rates which lead to investment in secondary markets.

Transactional activity during the first 9 months of 2015 led to $625 billion of direct property investment worldwide, which is an 11-percent increase over the same period of 2014. Real Capital Analytics provided all the data and in 2016, it is expected to be even more.

John B. Friedrichsen, CFO of Colliers International said, "Our report suggests that... long term secure investment in core markets will be the norm," he added. "Large volumes of capital already raised will increasingly seek out opportunities in tier-two cities and in recovering markets."

More than 600 investors were surveyed and 52 percent said they will increase allocations for real estate this year while only 11 percent will decrease. Real estate investment worldwide will flourish with London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo and Sydney as main targets for direct cross-border real estate sales.

Big Cities, Preferred Properties

In the Americas, US, 94 percent of investors are saying they will increase their real estate investments here this year. Only 5 percent said they will be more likely to purchase properties in Mexico or Brazil. The most popular cities are San Francisco (27 percent), New York (24 percent) and Los Angeles (22 percent).

In Europe, 63 percent of UK investors are adding to their property portfolios there this year. London (43 percent) tops the list with Paris (19 percent) and Frankfurt (14 percent). Offices, shopping centers and luxury retail are very popular in Europe while in the UK office space, logistics and residential properties.

In Asia, Japan and Australia leads followed by Hong Kong, China and Singapore. The top cities are Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne.