Foreign Investors Still Love America

Fears that foreign investors may pull their euros and yen out of the U.S. real estate market are greatly exaggerated, according to the president of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate.Steven Zoukis, a partner in Jamestown Properties, Atlanta, said there are primarily two reasons the money will continue to flow. For one thing, with the dollar trading so low against foreign currencies -- at last look, $1 was worth only 0.75 euros -- foreigners can buy more in the United States than they can elsewhere. For another, the safety and stability offered in the United States is unmatched by any other country. Mr. Zoukis offered his analysis at MIPIM, the International Property Market in Cannes, France, where a record 17,000 real estate professionals from around the globe are gathered this week. His company, an investment and management firm specializing in "high-quality" real estate, has been working largely of late with German investors, a group of whom recently purchased the General Motors Building in New York City. Jamestown also just completed a $1 billion-plus deal with Deutschbank. As the official voice of foreign real estate business in the United States, AFIRE represents the interests of 17 different countries. Since its inception in 1983, Jamestown and its 36,000 investors have acquired more than $5 billion in assets.