Foreign investors’ insatiable appetite for US properties extended throughout 2013, with international capital flows into the sector reaching a fresh high.
外国投资者对美国房地产的需求在整个2013年期间保持旺盛，国际资本流入美国房地产市场的金额创下新高。
Last year the world’s largest economy maintained its position as the top destin-ation for direct commercial property investment by foreigners with $38.7bn pouring into the country, according to a report from brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. The total was up 44 per cent on 2012.
房地产中介仲量联行(Jones Lang LaSalle)的一份报告称，去年世界第一大经济体保持了世界头号“外国直接商业房地产投资目的地”的地位，流入该国商业房地产的外资总额达到387亿美元，比2012年增长了44%。
Canadian, Chinese and Australian investors led the charge, with investors targeting top-tier areas such as Manhattan, Los Angeles and Chicago as well as secondary markets including Houston, Dallas and Seattle.
加拿大、中国和澳大利亚的投资者最为踊跃，他们的投资目标既包括曼哈顿、洛杉矶和芝加哥等一线市场，也包括休斯顿、达拉斯和西雅图等二线市场。
The steadily improving health of the US economy was propelling investment, said JLL. Increased allocations to foreign pension funds in countries such as Australia and Malaysia and a growing pool of people seeking to preserve their wealth in the Asia-Pacific region had also driven flows.
仲量联行表示，美国经济状况的稳步改善是提振商业房地产投资的一个因素。另两个因素是，澳大利亚和马来西亚等国的养老基金增配美国商业房地产资产，以及亚太地区有越来越多的人希望实现财富保值。
Almost half all investments were in office buildings, 16 per cent in apartment blocks, 15 per cent in retail, while hotels, industrial properties and land development made up the rest. Foreign money comprises about 10 per cent of all capital for commercial property investment in the US, which JLL has said could accelerate if international investors expand beyond core assets to riskier deals that deliver higher returns.
这些投资有近一半流向了写字楼，16%流向公寓楼，15%流向零售商铺，其余部分流向酒店、工业地产和土地开发项目。外资占美国商业房地产投资总额的10%左右，仲量联行表示，假如国际投资者的投资范围从目前的核心资产扩大到风险更高、回报也更高的交易，这个比例还会进一步提高。
“We’ve already seen some foreign investors branching out into value-add or development strategies where an investor can come in and reposition an asset, for example an older property that may need renovation with the hopes of improving the occupancy rate,” said Marisha Clinton, director of research at JLL.
仲量联行研究主管马里莎•克林顿(Marisha Clinton)表示：“我们发现，已有一些外国投资者开始尝试增值或开发策略，即先买下、然后改变资产的定位，比如买下一栋老旧房产、然后重新装修以提高入住率。”
The majority of the $11.9bn of Canadian capital to the US was generated by public real estate operating companies and real estate investment trusts.
加拿大流入美国的119亿美元商业房地产投资，大部分来自公共房地产运营企业和房地产投资信托。
Brookfield Asset Management, one of the largest, invested more than $4bn in office properties, apartments and industrial warehouses in cities from Dallas to Los Angeles and Washington.
其中最大的一家——布鲁克菲尔德资产管理公司(Brookfield Asset Management)——在写字楼、公寓和工业仓库领域投资了逾40亿美元，投资的城市从达拉斯、洛杉矶到华盛顿。
Amid a domestic slowdown and a growing desire by wealthy individuals and developers to diversify holdings overseas, $3.1bn of Chinese money targeted opportunities in Manhattan, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Australians invested $2.7bn, opting to put their capital into the retail and office sectors.
由于国内经济增长放缓以及有钱的个人和房地产开发商对持有海外资产的兴趣不断增加，中国投资者去年向美国商业房地产投资了31亿美元，他们瞄准的主要是曼哈顿、洛杉矶和旧金山的投资机会。澳大利亚投资者投资了27亿美元，主要投资领域为零售商铺和写字楼。