Empty stores and shopping centers are increasingly being converted into warehouse and e-commerce distribution centers, according to real estate firms such as CBRE and Cushman & Wakefield. CBRE produced a report this past year detailing 24 retail-to-industrial conversion projects since 2016, turning 7.9 million square feet of retail space into 10.9 million square feet of new industrial space either by converting the existing retail structure or replacing it with new industrial construction. One of the observers of this trend has been Bil Ingraham, senior vice president of business development at Centennial.

Housing is the world’s biggest investment class, with home prices more than quadrupling in real terms during the past 70 years, and yet the housing sector is damaging the U.S. and other developed economies around the world. Housing is simply too expensive and is suffocating other components of the economy.

Many years ago, Fred Fern had some money burning a hole in his pocket. A family friend, a stockbroker at PaineWebber, suggested Fern invest the money and subsequently bought the young man shares of IBM, the bluest of blue-chip companies in those days. Fern recalls himself thinking at the time, “I am invested in IBM and have all the answers.”

Sales of nontraded REITs totaled more than $4.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019, their ninth consecutive quarterly increase since fundraising hit a bottom in third quarter 2017, and their highest quarterly total in over five years. Nontraded REITs closed out 2019 with more than $11.8 billion raised, their highest fundraising total since 2014.

Although clouds continue to hover over the 2020 global economic outlook, the commercial real estate investment landscape is quite constructive, thanks to modest growth, accommodative central banks and low rates.

As consumer preferences shift to embrace renting over homeownership, the purpose-built single-family residential (SFR) sector represents a potentially attractive investment opportunity. The need for rental properties is steadily growing, with 65 percent of new households electing to rent rather than buy. For residents, these properties combine the no-fuss maintenance of apartment living with the amenities of a single-family home. For investors seeking to participate in the residential market and looking to avoid the crowded multifamily sector, SFR communities offer attractive exit conditions, operational efficiency and consumer demand.

Two of the hottest niches in real estate are at opposite ends of the housing spectrum — senior and student housing. According to NCREIF annualized data ending Sept. 30, 2019, senior housing performed better than all other sectors except industrial. The total annual return for senior housing through third-quarter 2019 was 7.8 percent, which compares favorably to the overall NCREIF Property Index’s (NPI) 6.24 percent return, as well as the 5.39 percent return posted for the apartment sector.

Over the next decade, wireless applications powered by fifth-generation (5G) network technologies are expected to disrupt nearly every sector of the economy, requiring massive investments in communications infrastructure. Cell tower and data center owner/operators will be key beneficiaries of 5G-related spending, providing critical assets to carry economies into the next digital era.

Utilities investing strongly in renewable energy — NextEra Energy, Xcel Energy and Duke Energy among them — have outperformed their peers, returning 33.7 percent, 31.1 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, compared to the industry’s 13.3 percent return in the past year, according to a report from OilPrice.com.

So much for the argument that if marijuana is legalized everybody will be smoking dope, sitting on their sofas and playing video games. Far from it. Demand for cannabis has been underwhelming and investors are starting to figure out they’ve been on a bad high.

Private real estate plays a significant role in institutional investor portfolios, representing 10 percent of their total assets on average, with the majority in core real estate. Conversely, though, investment advisers haven’t historically included core real estate in high-net-worth client portfolios. That could and should be changing.

Gyms and other fitness amenities are in demand from tenants, and real estate developers are offering a muscular response to that mandate. RENTCafe, a division of Yardi Matrix, has issued a report that found in 2019 some 92 percent of new rental buildings came with some type of gym or fitness amenity — and during the past decade gyms have been a regular fixture in around 90 percent of new apartment buildings.