Global real estate investment up 17% in 2011: DTZ

Around $329 bn (EUR 238 bn) of capital will be available for investment in global real estate in 2011, according to the latest 'Great Wall of Money' research report issued last week by DTZ. The figure represents a 17% increase on a previous estimate in mid-2010, mostly as a result of the growing number of funds targeting Asia Pacific.

Third-party managed funds account for the majority of available capital, with a 56% share of activity. These funds have raised a total of $131 bn of capital, compared to $114 bn six months ago. Publicly-listed companies now represent 20% of raised capital reaching $71 bn, more than double the amount reported in mid-2010 ($33 bn).

Domestic or intra-regional investment dominates the market, with little inter-regional investment focus. 'The latest report findings show that many investors remain focused on their more familiar, home country or regional markets. This is particularly true in Asia Pacific and EMEA where 92% and 81% of capital targeting the region has been raised locally,' said Nigel Almond, associate director of Forecasting & Strategy at DTZ and author of the report.

He added: 'America bucks the trend with only 36% of funds directed towards the Americas. We also see that the majority of funds continue to target multiple property types, highlighting the need for flexibility in deploying capital.'

Although available capital for funds targeting Asia Pacific and the Americas rose significantly over the past six months, the amount of available capital targeting the EMEA region has remained relatively similar with a 2% increase to $114 bn. The volume of capital in the three core regions globally is now equally distributed, in marked contrast to December 2008 when nearly half of all available capital targeted EMEA.