According to research by Cushman & Wakefield, there has been more money spent on property investment this year than at any point since the global financial crisis struck in 2008.

Investors can’t often rely on the stability of the global economic market, but when it comes to real estate the opposite has very much been the case. The findings showed that investment rose by 16% to £621.4 billion in the 12 months to June, only 13% below the pre banking crisis peak.

In addition, Cushman & Wakefield’s report predicts that global property investment for 2015 will increase by 17% and reach the record annual total of $1.1 trillion. 

Unsurprisingly, the majority of investment appetite is centred on the lucrative markets of North America and Europe. New York and London continue to retain their status as the biggest property investment hubs in the world.

David Hutchings, Head of EMA investment strategy at Cushman & Wakefield’s, said: “Europe is still a magnet for capital from all regions, but North America has actually been the fastest growing target for foreign capital – a fact reflected in the dominance of US cities in this year’s report.”

The rest of the top five was made up by Tokyo, Los Angeles and San Francisco. 14 of the top 25 cities were in the US, with the research also revealing that the top global buyers were to be found in the USA, Singapore, Canada, China and Norway.