What do London, New York City, Tokyo and Paris have in common? They rank, in this order, as the world’s four “super cities” and were the most attractive destinations for direct real estate investment during the first nine month of 2013, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

In fact, JLL found that real estate investment plays and active, rather than passive, role in driving why certain cities become successful. A total of 30 global cities — super, primary and secondary — have drawn 50 percent of the US$4.6 trillion in direct property investment during the past decade, illustrating the importance of real estate to developing super and primary cities, as well as to growing second-tier cities.

Because increased demand for property assets in super cities puts a strain on limited stock, investors have necessarily become more willing to take on more risk by investing in second-tier markets, which then ben