Back in 2013 and 2012, Israel was ranked pretty high on the scale of foreign investors in U.S. real estate. In 2013, they were ranked third in the top US commercial real estate investors. According to Tova Cohen at Reuters, “Israeli investment in U.S. commercial real estate surpassed $1 billion in 2012.” One big player in the market is Yitzhak Tshuva’s firm Elad, which purchased Manhattan’s Plaza hotel in 2004 for $675 million. The Elad Group recently has been in partnership with Silverstein Properties to construct a mixed-used development at a cost of $160 million, according to Guelda Voien at the Real Deal.

 

Another large player mentioned is Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services, which is part of a group that bought the IDS Center in Minneapolis. Harel paid $277 million for their stake in the building. Aside from commercial real estate, Israel played a key role as well, being ranked third in U.S. multifamily home market, and second in Florida’s.