Speaking generally, Ten-X finds that as e-commerce's share of total retail sales increases, in-store inventory needs have declined. While consumers are still shopping, an increasing number of sales are being fulfilled from warehouses while retail's per-person footprint diminishes further. Accordingly, the warehouse and distribution sector has been the beneficiary of e-commerce's hegemonic rise.

Even so, Ten-X notes that rent growth has been solid. Effective rents rose 1.8% in the second quarter from a year ago, a growth rate unchanged from Q1, and Ten-X expects this level of growth to continue through 2018.

Thereafter, though, rent growth will be on a rollercoaster, an up-and-down track already being seen in leasing volume. Vacancies ticked up by 10 basis points to 10% during Q3 and have gone up 20 bps from the year-ago period. However, Ten-X foresees a modest improvement in vacancies as absorption outpaces completions—until 2019 and 2020, during which completions are expected to outpace absorption.

There's a distinct West-versus-East dichotomy in Ten-X's assessment of markets where it advises investors to consider buying retail properties and those where it would advise investors to consider divesting their assets in the sector. The firm's long-term forecast suggests investors should consider buying retail properties in Austin, Denver, Dallas, Salt Lake City and San Jose. Clustered mainly in the Southwest with a single West Coast exception, these markets have both compelling demographics and durable retail fundamentals in their favor.

Conversely, Kansas City, Memphis, Cleveland, Northern New Jersey and Pittsburgh are the top markets in which investors might consider selling retail properties. These cities face adverse retailing conditions—whether fundamentals decline further or simply stagnate—due to either economic struggles or the double whammy of slow population growth and high rents. In Kansas City, for example, net absorption has been negative in four of the past five quarters, according to Ten-X.