After extended break in U.S., govs ramp up real estate investing

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From the New York May issue: It looks like sovereign wealth funds — which are made up of pools of money derived from a country’s reserve — are slowly returning to invest in commercial real estate in the United States.

Since the economic crisis of 2008, SWFs had decreased their investments in commercial real estate by at least 20 percent.

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But the amount of money they’re investing now is substantial. By 2012, SWFs are expected to have $12 trillion in assets under management.

In one deal last month, the Qatari Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund for the tiny Middle East nation of Qatar, emerged as the backer for the largest downtown development under construction in the U.S. — a 10-acre project in Washington, D.C., called CityCenterDC, which broke ground in the first week of April. [more]