02/16/2008

According to CrainsNewYork, Renta Corp. of Barcelona, Spain hit $10B mark by buying five residential and commercial properties in Manhattan.

According to Real Capital Analytics, foreign acquisitions in the city reached record proportions last year —with offshore investors purchasing 31 commercial buildings valued collectively at $9.9 billion, compared with 14 buildings valued at $3.9 billion in 2006.The trend shows no signs of slowing down in 2008. Foreign investors have grabbed one-third of the $2.7 billion worth of commercial property currently under contract, according to Frank Liantonio, executive vice president of global capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Below are some major Manhattan acquisitions involving foreign buyers in 2007 (the property followed by the price and country).

388-390 Greenwich St. $1.6 billion; Canada/U.S.

280 Park Ave. $1.3 billion; Bahrain/U.S.

60 Wall St. (Deutsche Bank building) $1.2 billion; Germany

885 Third Ave. (Lipstick Building)$649 million; Israel

229 W. 43rd St. (Former New York Times building) $525 million; Israel

120 Park Ave. (deal pending) $525 million; Israel

823 U.N. Plaza $120 million; Israel/U.S.

Source: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080217/FREE/946032271/-1/newsletter03