For EB-5 investors, choosing the right project is about more than just meeting visa requirements. You want to be confident that your money is working for you, creating both opportunity and security.
Real estate has long been a trusted path for investors worldwide, and for good reason: land and property tend to hold value even during uncertain times. As Margaret Mitchell once wrote, “Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything, for it’s the only thing in the world that lasts.”
Why Real Estate Remains Appealing
In the United States, commercial real estate (CRE) continues to attract strong interest both from U.S. and international investors. While some sectors, such as office space, still adjusting to new work-from-home habits, show signs of stabilizing, other areas, like multifamily housing, retail, and industrial properties, remain especially strong in 2025. For EB-5 investors, these sectors, if in the right location and relatively new, high-quality buildings with good tenants, can provide more stability, steady growth, and reliable job creation, all of which support the immigration process.
Historical Returns: The proof is in the pudding.
Commercial real estate offers a combination of benefits that few other investment types can match. Investors are often drawn to:
- Steady Returns. Over the last 25 years, private CRE investments have delivered about 10.3% average annual returns, compared to 9.6% from the S&P 500.1 Certain projects, such as renovating or repositioning properties (known as “value-add” opportunities), have achieved even higher returns.
- Lower Volatility. While stock prices can change quickly, CRE values have historically been more stable. Between 2000 and 2022, quarterly price swings in CRE were only about 1.8%, compared to 6.6% in the S&P 500. This steadier performance can give EB-5 investors peace of mind during the long immigration process.
- Potential for Higher Total Returns. Because CRE investments often use financing (leverage), returns in many cases have ranged from 12–20% or more, significantly outperforming the public stock market.
These figures explain why billions of dollars ($369.8 billion in 2024) continue to flow into U.S. real estate each year, including over $75 billion in industrial CRE alone.
Benefits for EB-5 Investors
Direct private investments in commercial real estate may be particularly attractive for EB-5 investors who want both to secure a visa and build long-term wealth. Key advantages include:
- Potential for Attractive Risk-Adjusted Returns: A balance of reward and protection for your capital.
- Current Income: Many projects generate ongoing rental income while you wait for visa approval.
- Diversification: Real estate moves differently from stocks and bonds, helping reduce portfolio risk.2
- Tangible Value: Unlike paper assets, real estate is a physical, lasting asset.
- Tax Benefits: Depending on the structure, certain tax advantages may apply.
- Hedge Against Risk: Real estate can act as a stabilizer in uncertain markets.
These qualities explain why there are so many EB-5 real estate projects. Aside from historic returns, property investments also create the jobs needed to satisfy EB-5 program requirements.
A Final Thought
For EB-5 investors, the journey is not only about immigrating to the United States; it’s about securing a safe and productive future for your family. Real estate has proven, time and again, to be one of the most enduring ways to protect and grow wealth while also supporting your visa goals. Just as we began with the idea that land lasts, we can close with the same truth: real estate is more than an investment: it is a foundation. In the context of EB-5, it can be the basis both of your financial security and your new life in America.
1 Past performance is not a guarantee or indication of future performance. Investing involves risks, including the loss of principal.
2 Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. It is a method used to help manage investment risk.
