Houston commercial real estate saw an in surge of foreign investment amounting to no less than $1.7 billion last year, according to Houston Chronicle. What is surprising is that the in surge of investments happened while the economy is weakened by the decrease prices in oil. Despite rumors that international investors are now less optimistic, local realtors and experts still believe that the market remains attractive in the long run.
Houston is still considered a less costly alternative to cities like New York and San Francisco, both of which always look attractive to international investors, according to Chairman Ed Wulfe of Wulfe & Co. On the other hand, what makes Houston appealing to investors is the friendly business environment and development which makes the dwindling crude prices and slowdown in the energy sector not that alarming to investors.
With respect to this, Wulfe said, according to the publication, "There is a psychological awareness of the energy weakness, but there is no question that short-term and long-term, energy will be back, and we'll be at the center of it."
"There is a psychological awareness of the energy weakness, but there is no question that short-term and long-term, energy will be back, and we'll be at the center of it."
Amidst the optimism, it is a fact that based on the 2016 AFIRE survey, Houston did feel the fallout from the slump in oil prices. From being number 3 in the last two years, the city is now ranked 11th among U.S. cities. Los Angeles rose to number 3 this year from number 10 last year. Globally, Houston fell to number 27 from number 6 last year.
The Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate was led by the James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate, Wisconsin School of Business, according to Houston Chronicle.
