According to a new survey, the British capital, London has overtaken New York as the best city in the world to make investments in real estate.

A survey released by a global investor group yesterday showed that London increased its lead over New York, pushing the US city to the second position worldwide.  The survey showed that about quarter of the points awarded to a range of worldwide cities were given to London in 2013.  New York was in the second position with just more than 20 per cent points.

San Francisco, Houston and Los Angeles were in the third, fourth and fifth respectively indicating that the American cities still dominates the property market investments.  The survey was conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).

"Our members' increasing interest in cities beyond the powerhouses of New York, Washington and San Francisco points to the recognition of additional investment opportunities for foreign investors," said James A Fetgatter, chief executive of AFIRE.

The survey also showed that the Spanish property market is recovering as ti was named the second best country for capital appreciation, with 21.1 per cent of votes.  The Spanish capital, Madrid also appeared in leading ten cities around the world.