Are North American investors changing their tune on overseas transactions?

Since the pandemic hit at the start of this decade, the property picture globally has become more uncertain and less consistent. Economies around the world have oscillated and diverged, making a strong case for U.S. property investors to diversify abroad.

U.S. investors used to view offshore investing as a “yield enhancer,” notes Tricia Peterson, managing partner at real estate private equity manager and adviser Accord Group Holdings. They demanded risk premiums for any international investments to compensate for foreign-currency risk, geopolitical concerns and so on. But as they grew comfortable with international exposure and some of those risks abated in a relatively stable picture, U.S. players took on overseas holdings for diversification, rather than to goose returns.

The divergent economic performance and governmental responses to COVID’s disruption have increased the relevance of that diversification. Real estate that was highly correlated across countrie