2014 was a good year for real estate. According to the IREI FundTracker database, 105 funds held final closings in 2014, raising approximately US$88 billion. But 2014 is long done, and the industry is looking forward and trying to divine what 2015 will bring.

So far, the good vibes of 2014 have drifted into 2015. The mood at the recent Pension Real Estate Association annual conference was upbeat and optimistic. PREA’s most recent “Consensus Forecast Survey of the NCREIF Index” found participants believe the industry will see total returns (including income) reaching an average of 9.8 percent in 2015, with apartments coming in at 9.0 percent and industrial at 10.3 percent. Average income returns are expected to be about 5.3 percent, with average appreciation reaching 4.5 percent. Two years ago, these same respondents thought returns in 2015 w