After months of an unrelenting global health crisis, ongoing uncertainty, economic damage and disruptions across most facets of life, the arrival of an effective vaccine has sparked renewed optimism for 2021. However, investors should have realistic expectations about how the next several months will unfold. With a prolonged business shutdown of this magnitude, there will likely be a slow recovery period even with the presence of a successful vaccination delivery.

"I expect the recovery from this economic downturn to be very uneven," Dianne Crocker, principal analyst at LightBox, tells GlobeSt.com. "Recovery is going to vary by metro as some were hit harder by COVID. A metro like New York City saw much more impact from COVID than many smaller metros and of course, suburban and rural communities did. Different levels of impact has resulted in inconsistencies in reopening, which further perpetuates an uneven recovery."

The recovery will also be uneven in terms of asset classes. While some asset classes such as industrial have benefitted from the pandemic, others such as hotels have been hit hard. With that said, pinpointing the timing of local recoveries may not be possible.