Insurer and wealth manager AMP (ASX: AMP) has announced that the AMP Capital Global Direct Property Fund has acquired an industrial property in Texas to add to its global portfolio.
The fund, which provides Australian-based superannuation funds with access to global property investments, purchased the US$17 million asset at what it deemed to be "a favourable price relative to recent comparable transactions and well below replacement cost." The Texas purchase marks the fifth US real estate purchase for the fund in the past 12 months.
With signs that the US property market is continuing to 'heat up' it's not just AMP that is increasing its exposure to US property. Australian investors are also finding ways to gain exposure to the US property and building sector through investments in domestic companies with significant US operations such as retail property developer Westfield Group (ASX: WDC) and building materials suppliers Boral (ASX: BLD) and James Hardie Industries (ASX: JHX).
Foolish takeaway
Many investors look to identify themes which can help shape the types of companies they seek to invest in or seek to avoid. Just as the structurally challenged newspaper industry has been an example of a theme to avoid in recent years, improving property prices and demand for home building could be a theme for investors to investigate further.
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Motley Fool contributor Tim McArthur does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article.
