Japan’s U.S. Real Estate Holdings Surge : Level Is Almost Double That of Great Britain’s
Japan’s buying of U.S. commercial real estate has surged ahead since 1986 and its $10.02 billion in holdings last year was far larger than any other country’s, the U.S. General Accounting Office says.
“Most countries’ positions have remained somewhat stable, with the notable exception of Japan, which in just a few years has grown from a relatively modest share to almost double that held by the United Kingdom,” said Allan I. Mendelowitz, the director of the office for trade, energy and finance issues.
Japanese holdings increased 64.3% from 1987 to 1988, he added.
The office makes audits for Congress. Mendelowitz’s statement came in a letter to Sen. Quentin N. Burdick of North Dakota. The letter, dated July 31, was made available Thursday.
Small Portion of Total
Britain’s commercial real estate holdings in 1988 were given as $5.32 billion. Britain was followed by Canada with $4.17 billion, the Netherlands with $3.34 billion and the Netherlands Antilles with $3.19 billion.
The letter to Burdick updated a report to him of July 10. That report listed the Netherlands Antilles, a group of five small Caribbean Islands, as one of four “identity havens” used to conceal the names of owners. The others were Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Panama.
The figures represent only a small proportion of total real estate values in the United States. The National Assn. of Realtors, a private group, estimated last November that the value of all foreign real estate holdings in 1986 was only 1.5% of U.S. commercial holdings, excluding farmland and land used for housing.
Citizens of other countries owned even a smaller proportion of American farms--about 1%, according to the report.
It said foreign holdings of farmland amounted to almost 12.5 million acres worth nearly $9.5 billion in 1988. Britons were the biggest holders with 10.6 million acres, followed by the Swiss with 2.8 million acres.
Using an older set of figures, the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Commerce Department valued at $90.9 billion all commercial property held by non-Americans in 1987.
