The Weekly Multiple: March 28, 2019

This learning series on Modern Commercial Real Estate Investing first appeared on the EquityMultiple blog. Please check in there for updates and additions to this series.

Happy Thursday, Everyone. Each week we bring you the best of what we’re reading in industry news & market trend commentary, as well as selected material from the EquityMultiple Team.

Three Ways Investors Can Increase Agility In Uncertain Markets

Forbes — How investors can adjust and reduce exposure to risk in uncertain times, including diversifying into industrial assets that could thrive even amid a downturn. Investing in industrial assets presents a great opportunity to help spread risk across different market sectors. Additionally, relationship building is vital to portfolio success. As the economic cycle changes, so do banking relationships. Investment managers must stay in sync with the direction banks are headed while anticipating the impact on business.

Colony Capital Buys $1.2B Industrial Portfolio Spread Across US

TheRealDeal — Colony Capital shifts their focus and invests 1.2 billion into industrial assets spread across 10 different markets.The deal includes 54 buildings totaling about 11.9 million square feet and will expand the firm’s footprint by 25% in terms of square footage. Institutional investor activity underscores the appeal of industrial assets in uncertain markets.

New Opportunities are Emerging for Industrial Investors

NREI — The new frontier for Investment real estate? As vacancy drops to record lows, new opportunities arise for industrial real estate. With the ascent of e-commerce — and fast delivery expectations — the need for industrial space continues to outpace supply across the U.S., providing new opportunities for investors. As an increasing amount of consumers turn to the convenience of online shopping, Fraker predicts grocers to reduce in-store shelf space and turn to the expansion of cold warehouse spaces.