In September 2007, Dublin investment firm Claret Capital bought Washington D.C. St. Regis Hotel for $170m on behalf of "ultra high net worth individuals and families."

Commercial property agents Jones Lang LaSalle say that in the nine months to the end of September 2007,  Irish investors put €8.2bn in overseas property compared with an estimated €6.0bn in the same period in 2006.

Domestic investment fell to €1bn compared with €2.7bn in 2006.

Last year, a total of €8bn was invested in overseas property compared with only €192m in venture capital investment for Irish business.

Using Bank of Ireland Private Banking data, the total Irish investment in commercial property (equity and borrowings) is €50 billion, mainly overseas, since 2001, compared with a €1 billion in venture capital in Irish business.

Max Reilly, assistant director capital markets Jones Lang LaSalle, says that the Irish domestic figure of €1bn, is down partly because of once-off large deals which were done in 2006., including the AIB bank centre sale and leaseback deal and the Pavilion shopping centre in Swords. He added that while there maybe an element of caution about the Irish commercial market, this in no way is close to the negative sentiment surrounding the residential market.

And investors are also looking at what's happening in the the capital markets when making decisions on investments here.

"Irish investors remain confident about the property market because, while Irish property values grew by 8.7% in the first nine months of the year, Irish share values dropped by 15%

Elsewhere, share prices worldwide have fluctuated widely in reaction to uncertainty about the stability of the US sub-prime housing market," he said.

He added that in Ireland the retail market remains the dominant investment sector representing 77% of all deals done this year.

In Europe, the UK remained the favourite destination for Irish capital.

And despite the credit crunch in more recent weeks, Reilly said that the number of deals in the fourth quarter could well be strong as investors are offered discounts and find the market there good value.

"Our prediction for 2008 and beyond is that due to credit crunch uncertainty and volatility in both the domestic and European markets, the UK in particular will deliver some very worthwhile buying opportunities at reduced price levels," he said.

On Thursday, Bank of Ireland Private Banking announced that it recently completed a commitment of $130m to a fund investing across the broad Asian region.