SHAFAQNA- While International investment, in both the national real estate market and New York City specifically, has been on the decline this year, there are more investment from Saudi Arabia because of their better relationship with Trump.
Despite rising property values nationwide, year-over-year sales fell from $153 billion to $121 billion, according to a study released by the National Association of Realtors last month, accounting for a 21 percent decline, The Muslim Post reported.
Edward Mermelstein, a real estate lawyer who specializes in foreign transactions, said “What we’re seeing more is investment from the Middle East, which has experienced a relative uptick that’s come from the fact that there’s a better relationship being built with Saudi Arabia.”
Mermelstein said buyers from Saudi Arabia and its Middle Eastern allies began to embrace New York real estate last year after the fervor over the White House’s anti-Islamic travel ban subsided and President Trump paid a visit to the kingdom.
These investors, Mermelstein said, have targeted the city’s most stable real estate markets.
“It’s a matter of new money versus old money,” he said. “If your money is newer, you tend to stick to the most well-known areas, Billionaires Row, Tribeca and Central Park, parts that are covered more in the press.
“The older your wealth is, you tend to go to areas that are seen as long-term investments,” he added. “Western Europe, for example, is comfortable extending out to parts of Brooklyn and Queens.”
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