The global real estate sector has experienced exceptional growth over the last decade, reflected in rapid growth in cross-border real estate investment activity. A surrounding issue with the internationalisation of real estate investment is the identification of investment-grade real estate markets. This paper proposes a framework for identifying investment-grade international real estate markets. It presents a formal process for assisting with the strategic and tactical selection of investable international markets. In particular, the framework involves segmenting the investment universe into geographical regions and establishing a feasible set of markets based on various criteria: economic prospects; space market fundamentals, capital market conditions and risk. The paper presents an application of the framework with reference to countries in Europe and Asia. Of countries identified as investment grade, eighteen are regarded as core markets, namely fifteen in Europe and three in Asia. These core countries tend to have better growth prospects and lower risk profile. The proposed framework provides a robust and useful tool for investment managers and other market players in formulating strategic geographical asset allocation investment decisions. Furthermore, the framework is flexible, being portable across other asset classes such as infrastructure.