Sunday, January 27, 2008

At least SOMEBODY has some disposable income...

Foreigners gobbling up city properties

by Rich Schapiro - Daily News Staff Writer

January 20th 2008, 4:00 AM

Park Ave. Broadway. 42nd St.

The names of these rarefied Manhattan boulevards conjure images of soaring skyscrapers and almost unfathomable luxury. And that's not just for New Yorkers.

Foreign investors covet buildings along the famed streets - seeing the towers as trophy properties known the world over.

As the dollar has continued to slump and the U.S. economy slows even more, an increasing number of international investors have bought big-name buildings across the city.

Dozens of foreign companies also have snatched up office space in many of midtown's iconic buildings.

"Offshore investors buy what they know," said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics, a real estate research company. "They want the postcard assets they can show off back home."

International firms spent a record $11.4 billion on commercial real estate in the city last year - more than double the previous year's total, Fasulo noted.

The biggest spenders were from the Middle East.

NY Daily News