Which real estate asset classes should you consider adding to your portfolio this year?

The last two years have been anything but normal, with the COVID-19 pandemic changing seemingly everything–including the real estate industry. Certain asset classes – including travel, hospitality, and office–saw a disproportionate amount of the fallout, as fear of the virus kept many at home. Others, including industrial and life sciences, broke record after record in terms of leasing activity and absorption. While “normal” is still being defined, we see many reasons to be optimistic about the future of real estate investing. 

Our recently updated market outlook is a comprehensive look at ten real estate asset classes, establishing where each currently sits and the unique opportunities or challenges they face in the coming months.

Some highlights:

• With a record-breaking $809 billion* in transaction volume (i.e. property sales), 2021 was a huge comeback year for the commercial real estate industry.
• The hospitality industry looks to be benefitting from the nation’s pent-up demand for travel, especially for leisure-oriented hotels. 
• The dominant sector in commercial real estate, demand for multifamily soared in 2021. Rents continued to increase, while vacancy rates (i.e. available rental units) plummeted to a record low 2.5%. 

*Real Capital Analytics - Capital Trends. US Big Picture, 2021

Our Market Outlook details our current outlook for hospitality, industrial, multifamily, retail, office, medical office, student housing, senior housing, and self-storage. Read the full market outlook.