AAA: Middle East Funds Return to us Real Estate Market

Investors have begun to start considering returning to the US real estate market, in a move that has been welcomed by alternative investment advocacy group, AAA (Alternative Asset Analysis).

Boston, MA, May 16, 2011 -- Investors have begun to start considering returning to the US real estate market, in a move that has been welcomed by alternative investment advocacy group, AAA (Alternative Asset Analysis).

Reports in the Financial Times about how banks and gulf-based funds are once again looking towards US property as a good place to put their money is great news for those promoting alternative investment strategies, explained AAA.

Isam Salah, the Global Head of the Middle East and Islamic Finance at law firm King & Spalding, explained to the FT: "Gulf investors are returning to the US and the past six months has seen an increasingly strong pace of investment, particularly in real estate."

Another analyst, Lewis Cohen of Clifford Chance, New York, explained that Gulf funds are keen to return to the US real estate market because it can adhere to Sharia Law: “Islamic investors like investing in real estate, as income from tangible assets is not considered interest.”

AAA’s analyst partner Anthony Johnson, said, “It’s great news that Islamic investors are starting to return to the US real estate market after values started to dip in the recession years.

"Real estate investment offers funds a great chance to diversify their portfolios and spread risk away from stocks and shares. As the US economy recovers, so should real estate values and the potential returns are plain to see.”

US lenders working within the real estate market are already used to including Sharia Addendum in documents drawn up for major real estate deals with Middle Eastern investors. As a result, Islamic funds are more eager than others to return to the markets, particularly because it has been more difficult for them to find alternative homes for their cash as any investment would require the establishment of similar Sharia-friendly additions.

Lewis Cohen added, "It is also an asset class that tends to be well understood by Islamic investors – the high level of growth in the real estate sector in the Gulf means these investors have a history of analyzing such assets and projects and they have taken that experience abroad to Europe and the US."

"Investing in alternative asset classes, such as US real estate and sustainable forestry in Brazil, through providers like Greenwood Management, is a sensible investment strategy for any risk averse fund or individual who is also keen to secure an investment that could produce some serious returns," added Johnson.

"Investing in alternative asset classes, such as US real estate and sustainable forestry in Brazil.

Contact:
Anthony Johnson
Alternative Asset Analysis
71 Commercial St
Boston, MA 02109-1320
617-898-6317
info@alternativeassetanalysis.com
http://www.alternativeassetanalysis.com

This release was published on openPR.