Investment Intensity Index Highlights Unlikely Markets

A mixed of obvious and surprise choices populated the latest edition of JLL’s Investment Intensity Index of commercial property markets.

 

Spanning 150 cities around the world, JLL’s Investment Intensity Index compares the volume of direct commercial real estate investment in a market over a three-year period relative to its current economic size, measuring the local real estate market’s liquidity while determining whether these cities “are punching above their weight in terms of attracting real estate investment.” The top ranking among the major 30 cities went to the Norwegian capital Oslo, with London in second place and Munich in third, while 13 rankings were taken by U.S. markets.

 

The real surprise, however, involved which U.S. markets made the top 30 list and how they ranked. Silicon Valley placed fifth, with New York in ninth and San Francisco in 12th place. Also making the grade was Boston in 14th, Las Vegas in 15th, North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham metro in 18th, Los Angeles in 20th, Seattle in 21st, Washington, D.C., in 22nd, the Texas capital Austin in 24th, Denver in 26th, Phoenix in 27th and San Diego in 29th. JLL praised the high-tech industries in most of the U.S. markets, which may explain why the likes of smaller metros like Raleigh-Durham and Austin were viewed as more desirable commercial real estate markets instead of global centers like 28th-ranked Hong Kong or 30th-placed Tokyo.

---