Nikos Koutoulas Flickr<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nThe Canadian Dollar hit a decade-low 74.5 US cents earlier this week, yet it appears that hasn\u2019t stopped Canadians from embarking on a major spending spree on real estate south of the border and overseas.<\/p>\n
In the 10 foreign cities that saw the most Canadian investment this year, property acquisitions by Canadians totalled about $17 billion (US), according to data from Real Capital Analytics covering the January 1st-September 29th period.<\/p>\n
London garnered the most Canadian real estate investment by far, with $5.3 billion spent there so far this year. Manhattan placed second, drawing $3.9 billion from Canadians, who spent more than any other foreign investor in that market.<\/p>\n
Jim Costello, Real Capital Analytics\u2019 vice president, explained that Manhattan is a \u201cgood, natural first step for a lot of Canadian investors looking outside of Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the largest, most liquid market in the United States, so that\u2019s going to capture the attention of these investors right away,\u201d he said in a telephone interview from San Francisco to BuzzBuzzHome News.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worth noting that a single acquisition made up a big chunk of Canadians\u2019 overall investment in Manhattan. Ivanhoe Cambridge, a Canadian real estate company, and Callahan Capital Properties joined forces to purchase 3 Bryant Park, which includes a 42-story office tower, from Blackstone Group for $2.2 billion.<\/p>\n
Purchases by big-time investors such as pension funds, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, have had a big impact on overall investment in Manhattan\u2019s real estate market, according to Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
Over the last 10 years, Canadians have purchased about 80 Manhattan properties for a total of about $15.3 billion.<\/p>\n
The popularity of Manhattan and London for Canadian investors hints at a more general trend: nine out of the top 10 cities are located in either America or England.<\/p>\n
As for what draws Canadians to the US and British markets in general, Costello said common cultural ground plays a significant role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a reason that Canadian investors go to a place like the United States\u2026 there\u2019s deep cultural connections: we\u2019re both neighbours, we speak the same language, we all play hockey and all\u201d Costello said.<\/p>\n
\u201c[In] London and the UK, there\u2019s also deep cultural connections just given the history of Canada and the relationship with the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two statistical oddities \u2014 \u201cEast England Other\u201d and \u201cEast Midlands Other\u201d placing in seventh and eighth with $820 million and $786 million in Canadian dollars pouring into real estate respectively \u2014 are not a sign of emerging real estate markets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose outlying areas of England are really single asset deals and not indicative of anything bigger,\u201d said Costello in a followup email to BuzzBuzzHome News. \u201cIn both cases in fact, the sale was of amusement park locations.<\/p>\n
The only city in the top 10 that\u2019s not on British or American soil is Berlin. The German capital placed third behind Manhattan with Canadians spending $1.7 billion on real estate there.<\/p>\n
Here are the top 10 cities that Canadians spent the most money on real estate in so far this year:<\/p>\n
1. London, UK \u2014 $5.3 billion
\n2. Manhattan, US \u2014 3.9 billion
\n3. Berlin, Ger. \u2014 $1.7 billion * highest outside of the UK and US
\n4. Boston, US \u2014 $1.6 billion
\n5. Los Angeles, US\u2014 $1 billion
\n6. Dallas, US \u2014 $836 million
\n7. Milton Keynes, UK \u2014 $820 million
\n7. East England, UK \u2014 $820 million
\n9. East Midlands, UK \u2014 $786 million
\n10. Manchester, UK \u2014 $744 million<\/p>\n
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