Yields on core properties in top-tier markets aren’t as attractive as they were earlier in the cycle due to intense competition, so some institutional investors are looking at other income-generating, high-yield vehicles. And while it may not be a stampede yet, more investors are devoting their attention and capital to alternative real estate assets, such as student housing, seniors housing, healthcare properties, medical office properties and self-storage facilities

When it comes to defining the word “niche,” there are so many different possible answers that one could use. It could mean a place, employment, status or activity for which a person is best fitted, or on a scientific level, the ecological role of an organism in a community, especially in regard to food consumption.

One definition that fits when referring to niche markets in institutional real estate investing is “a habitat supplying the factors necessary for the existence of an organism or