New York City has always been near and dear to the hearts of foreign investors. According to the Association of Foreign Investors, New York City is second only to London as a favorite among European, Asian and Middle Eastern buyers who seek solid investment opportunities.
Buzz words for savvy foreign investors in New York City property choices? Safe, longevity, new, luxury, stability, cachet and blue chip branding.
Bottom line for foreign investors? Long-term financial benefits for their children, their grandchildren and for their family’s future generations to come. By leveraging their own currencies with international financial markets and international assets, foreign investors buying “worthwhile” New York City residential properties are betting those properties will remain worthwhile long-term.
New York City has specific neighborhoods that are more favored than others by specific groups of people. Carole Armstrop, a real estate agent with DJK Residential, says that Chinese buyers prefer +$5M condominiums on Fifth and Park Avenues, $1-2M condos on the Upper East Side and $2-5M condos in Tribeca and So Ho.
Russian and Middle Eastern buyers, according to Rena Kliot, founder and CEO of Pulse International Realty, “…are particularly interested…” in Columbus Circle and Central Park West properties, said Rena Kliot, founder and CEO of Pulse International Realty. “When there is a certain ‘wow’ factor…or cachet…or history associated with the property, they’re interested.”
Bill Kowalcvzuk, an agent with Warburg Realty, finds that French investors gravitate towards Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. The brownstone row houses feel reminiscent to buildings on the Seine, there is a French/English school in the neighborhood and French is the first language in cafes on Henry Street.
“Midtown, especially Midtown West is always going to be a perennial favorite…” with foreign investors of all stripes, said James McGrath, co-founder of Yoreevo Real Estate Brokerage. “There are lots of cookie cutter $1M one-bedroom units in that neighborhood that will always sell.”
The Upper East Side, particularly its “Silk Stocking District” is a draw to Asian investors “…. because of the schools,” said Dorothy Schrager with Warburg Realty. Considered to be one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, Jordan Barkin of Harry Norman Realtor sees the Upper East Side as being “…a safe investment because of (the neighborhood’s) longevity and global reputation.”
Properties on the Upper West Side near Central Park West and “Billionaire’s Row” along 57th Street are extremely popular with Eastern European, Asian and Middle Eastern investors, according to Ed Mermelstein, property investment advisor and partner in One and Only Realty Holdings.
Lastly, Staten Island is lately turning heads of many foreign investors due to “… new construction of Staten Island’s North Shore…(the) new ferry and luxury condos…” said John Boyd, principal with the Boyd Company.
