CHICAGO—After a record-breaking year in 2015, 2016 saw net lease investments fell back toward the historical averages, especially in the industrial and retail sectors, according to a recent report published by JLL. The Chicago-based firm's research showed $45.6 billion in net lease sales during the past year, a big drop from the previous year, when sales approached $60 billion.

Sales in the net lease office sector did increase by 7.4% year-over-year due to eleven mega deals, accounting for 24.5% of the year's total sales. But overall sales in the industrial sector were $13.4 billion, a 32.7% drop from 2015, which JLL attributes to a lack of big portfolio sales. And in the retail sector, which also had a limited number of large deals, net lease investors spent $10.2 billion in 2016, a decline of 34.6%.

Big portfolio sales may return in 2017. As reported today in GlobeSt.com, private equity real estate firm DRA Advisors just bulked up its holdings by acquiring a 184-property portfolio from Cabot Properties Inc. The $1.07-billion buy expands DRA's industrial footprint by 19.8 million square feet. Although the mega-portfolio sales of 2015 contained many giant distribution buildings, the average size of buildings in the Cabot portfolio is less than 108,000 square feet, perhaps a sign that investors have shifted their focus.