What Are Global Investor Flows Into US Real Estate?

Tariff-related concerns are causing global investors to consider their exposure to US assets, including commercial real estate (CRE). What does that mean for CRE in the US and around the globe? How might a potential prolonged pullback affect liquidity and prices?

To answer these questions, we examined the historical makeup of cross-border CRE investments for insights and then assessed the potential impacts of any changes. We provide the highlights below.

For a deep dive into our key takeaways from our US and global outlook, read the complete reports:

US: Expect impact to differ by location, property type, and asset size

Cross-border investments in US CRE over the past decade, from 2015 to 2024, were primarily in traditional sectors, especially industrial warehouses and central business district (CBD) offices and in gateway markets, especially New York City, in select sectors. They were larger assets in more expensive locations. Based on this, we believe a sustained and material pullback of cross-border capital investment in US real estate, should it occur, would have:

Little to no impact on:

• Non-traditional sectors like medical offices, manufactured housing, senior housing, and self-storage
• Smaller and most moderate-sized assets, especially in non-gateway markets

Moderate to material impact on:

• Market/sector combinations where cross-border investors historically have been proportionately more active, such as CDB office, full-service hotels, and mid/high rise apartments in the NYC metro
• Larger assets in gateway metro areas: New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Boston

Modest to moderate impact on:

• Larger assets in other major metro areas, such as Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Central Florida, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Miami/South Florida, Phoenix, and Seattle
• Modest to moderate impact on larger assets in other major metro areas, e.g., Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Central Florida, Charlotte, Chicago, Houston, Miami/South Florida, Phoenix, and Seattle

Ways to manage risk in US CRE

We see two broad ways to manage risk from the liquidity and pricing impacts of a potential pullback of cross-border capital from the US market.

1. Focus new purchases on smaller and moderate-sized assets, especially in non-gateway markets.
2. Increase allocations to non-traditional sectors that offer the strongest combination of healthy tenant demand, limitations on new supply, and attractive relative pricing.

Global: Impact from US cross-border reallocations

The US is the largest global CRE market, accounting for 38% of global transaction activity in the past 10 years.¹ We examined the historic cross-border capital flows into the US to determine the potential impact on other key global real estate markets should capital flows be reallocated away from the US.

Our analysis of cross-border CRE investments since 2010 showed:

• US is the largest market for in-bound cross-border CRE investment globally.
• As a share of total investment activity, however, cross-border CRE US investment is lower than other key global CRE markets.
• Canadian investors are the largest investors in US CRE, investing more than twice as much in US CRE as in the next 10 markets combined.
• Any reallocation away from the US would have a significant impact on the next largest global CRE markets, such as the UK, Germany, France, and Australia.

Get a deep dive into these key takeaways:

1 Source: MSCI Real Capital Analytics data for commercial real estate transactions from 2015‒2024.Invesco

Investment risks
The value of investments and any income will fluctuate (this may partly be the result of exchange rate fluctuations) and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Property and land can be difficult to sell, so investors may not be able to sell such investments when they want to. The value of property is generally a matter of an independent valuer's opinion and may not be realized.
Generally, real estate assets are illiquid in nature. Although certain kinds of investments are expected to generate current income, the return of capital and the realization of gains, if any, from an investment will often occur upon the partial or complete disposition of such investment.
Investing in real estate typically involves a moderate to high degree of risk. The possibility of partial or total loss of capital will exist.
Investing in commercial real estate assets involves certain risks, including but not limited to tenants' inability to pay rent; increases in interest rates and lack of availability of financing; tenant turnover and vacancies; and changes in supply of or demand for similar property types in a given market.

Important information
Image credit: gettyimages Mark Meredith
This information is intended for Institutional Investors that are US residents.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Investments cannot be made directly in an index.
This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Investments in real estate-related instruments may be affected by economic, legal, or environmental factors that affect property values, rents or occupancies of real estate. Real estate companies, including REITs or similar structures, tend to be small and mid-cap companies and their shares may be more volatile and less liquid.
The opinions referenced above are those of the author as of July 17, 2025. These comments should not be construed as recommendations, but as an illustration of broader themes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions; there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.
Invesco Distributors, Inc. is the US distributor for Invesco’s retail products and private placement, and is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd.