In the league of the most preferred property market among foreign investors globally, US has retained its top position, while China was ranked second followed by India, a survey conducted by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) said.

China moved to the second place, garnering 21.4 per cent votes and displacing India in the process, which was preferred only by 16.7 per cent of the respondents favouring the country as the most fancied place for real estate investment.

In 2006, China got 14.6 per cent votes while India had 18 per cent and was ranked in the second position.

One of the significant findings that cannot be overlooked is the jump in investors confidence in China. For the second time in three years, China has been voted as the country offering the second best chance for capital appreciation after the US, AFIRE Chief Executive James A Fetgatter said.

Interestingly, the United States, whose economy continues to be bogged down by the subprime crisis and faces the threat of a recession, still managed to retain the the 'most preferred destination' tag for real estate investment.

The annual survey respondents included nearly 200 members of the association and was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2007, after the credit crunch and sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Among those surveyed, 26.2 per cent said America offered the best opportunity for capital appreciation in the real estate sector as compared to 23 per cent recorded in 2006.