Boston cracked the top-ten list of U.S. cities most attractive to foreign commercial real estate investment in the second quarter, coming in ninth with $318 million in cross-border investment, according to a new report from Jones Lang LaSalle.

Coming in ahead of Boston were New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Seattle and Minneapolis. Phoenix rounded out the top 10 U.S. markets. London topped the list for global investment activity.

Global investor purchasing activity picked up in the second quarter, with total market volumes increasing 24 percent over the first quarter to $108 billion, according to data collected from more than 60 countries by Jones Lang LaSalle Capital Markets Research.

"Core U.S. real estate throughout primary and many secondary cities remained very attractive to both domestic and foreign investors, based on absolute initial yields on offer, and their spread over record-low Treasury rates," said Josh Gelormini, vice president, Americas research for Jones Lang LaSalle.  "The U.S. is also benefiting from a safe haven strategy, as other global markets appear on shakier ground, particularly given the ongoing Eurozone crisis."