Industrial real estate continues to attract the dollars of foreign investors, according to the latest research by Avison Young.
Avison Young reported that foreign investors purchased $4.3 billion of corporate distribution, warehouse and related-space between the first quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of this year.
Which countries are buying the most U.S. industrial real estate? Canada topped the list for the first quarter of this year, with Avison Young reporting that investors from here purchased $831.1 million worth of industrial real estate during the quarter. China came in second, with investors purchasing $284.9 million of industrial assets in the first quarter of the year.
Avison Young says that the U.S. industrial sector has been on a strong run of foreign investment since 2008. In 2016, the total foreign investment in U.S. industrial assets was $3.5 billion.
"With the strength of the U.S. supply chain and continued growth in e-commerce, the industrial asset class should continue to attract investors looking for stable, long-term returns," said Erik Foster, a principal with Avison Young and practice leader of the U.S. national industrial capital markets group.