Activity Internationalisation In The Real Estate Market: Some Evidence On The Internationalisation Of The Real Estate Involvements Of Listed Firms

Real estate in common with many other business sectors has experienced significant levels of internationalisation in its market activities over the last decade. These range from the internationalisation of key market actors such as real estate service providers and investors to the increasingly cross-border nature of a wide spectrum of real estate involvements. However, with respect to one group of market actors specifically listed real estate firms the evidence so far available of their activity internationalisation suggests that it has more been limited and highly sector specific as compared to other groups of market actors. This paper sets out to systematically examine the internationalisation of the real estate involvements of this group as a means of identifying the key drivers of this process in the listed real estate universe. The analysis examines the experience of listed firms in Australia, France, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom and The United States. By using a range of case study locations the paper attempts to identify the extent to which country specific factors play a role in explaining different levels of internationalisation. Sector specific considerations, levels of market capitalisation, growth strategies and the incentive of superior performance are all examined as potential drivers of the process. The role of opportunistic timing as a driver is also considered. The paper concludes with an assessment of the findings for our understanding of activity internationalisation in the real estate market and identifies a number of priorities for future research.