The NCREIF Property Index ended 2014 with an 11.82 percent return for the year, with double-digit returns for all sectors.

The top-performing property type for the year was industrial, which returned 13.42 percent, slightly edging out retail at 13.12 percent. Apartment returns were the lowest for the year at 10.29 percent, but this follows several years of multifamily being the sector with the highest returns due to the Great Recession causing a shift from homeownership to rental housing.

The strong returns reflect improving fundamentals for the commercial real estate market combined with cap rates continuing to stay at historically low levels.

To put this in perspective, apartments recovered the fastest during the financial recovery as people were losing their homes and moving to apartments. Also, due to the tight credit during the financial crisis, many potential homeowners could not qualify for a mortgage loan and had to rent. Thus, the slightly lower return