To Buyers From Abroad, U.S. Looks Like A Bargain; More Shop After Dollar's Drop; Foreign investors consider hands-on purchasing as credit crisis spurs interest

Most foreign investment in U.S. real estate has historically been commercial and in real estate investment trusts and other kinds of property-oriented securities. Though now many foreign investors are directly buying commercial and residential property -- and some of the interest in a hands-on approach results from disenchantment with "traunching," says Gary Painter, director of research at the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.