For the first time since 2012, overseas investors became net sellers of U.S. real estate, and in this Video Spotlight, CNBC’s Diana Olick discusses the $21.3 billion in direct acquisitions and $21.4 billion sold by investors in Q2 2019.
“Prices in the U.S. are at record highs, and the returns are low, so its just hard for investors to put money to work in the U.S.,” said Olick.
Investor confidence is slipping as market conditions remain volatile, according to a new study from Wells Fargo. According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor Optimism Index, U.S. investor optimism fell to its lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2016 as investor confidence weakened in the 12-month outlook for the stock market and U.S. employment.
The Q3 2019 Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index is now 72, down 13 points from 85 in the second quarter and well below the post-recession high of 117 reached in the fourth quarter of 2017, the largest quarterly drop for the index in more than three years.
“Even before the volatility of the past two weeks, investors were rattled by the market decline at the start of the month, including a nearly 800-point drop in the Dow at the start of the survey period,” said Andy Byer, head of Client Service and Advice for Wells Fargo Advisors on Business Wire.