Industrial's strength has also shown up in transaction volume. The sector saw transaction activity increase 14% in 2019, according to Real Capital Analytics (RCA). While large portfolio acquisitions by Blackstone and BREIT made news, the sale of individual assets rose 13% from 2018.

As volume increased, prices for industrial assets rose. The sector delivered 12.1% year-over-year price increases, which made it the only segment providing double-digit price growth in 2019, according to the RCA CPPI.

"Industrial has been performing phenomenally in the recent past," Eltorai says. "The number of times it is brought up in an exciting context [in news articles] in the last couple years has been staggering." But Eltorai wonders if investors can expect those types of returns moving forward.

"I'm not calling for a reversal," Eltorai says. "I don't think industrial will get clobbered. But I think it will be very difficult to sustain the momentum that it has built up in 2020."

There were worries that momentum may fade last year, but interest rate cuts and a trade deal assuaged those concerns.

"People changed their tune and outlooks were revised," Eltorai says. "There seems to be a lot more certainty for at least the first half of 2020. We're going into 2020 on an uptick."

But that doesn't mean 2020 will be smooth sailing for the industrial space. "Spirits are high, but it's also an election year," Eltorai says. "I think a lot of the fears or anxieties or just questions that we were asking in early October and September of last year will surface again in mid-year. It's that uncertainty that will put a damper on industrial performance."

Even if there are hiccups, Eltorai doesn't expect industrial to reverse and become one of the least favored segments of CRE.

"The floor was very high for industrial," he says. "It has a lot of attention, and it still has some tailwinds. But to meet those expectations, it would need to see an additional motivator."