This year, a significant amount of capital is set to hit the commercial real estate investment market. During the uncertainty of 2020, more than $200 billion has sat on the sidelines, waiting out the market uncertainty. Those investors are poised to return this year, driving investment activity.

"By most estimates, there is more than $200 billion in capital sitting on sidelines coming into 2021. We believe that capital will be deployed in 2021, as we come out of the downturn. Some properties are distressed and will provide higher cap rates of at least a percent which will attract value-add investors," Mark Seale, principal and director of brokerage services at Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com.

This capital won't necessarily land in the same place that it did before the pandemic. Seale has pinpointed multifamily and Phoenix as the top areas of interest for investors in 2021. "We also believe that capital will be looking to the multifamily sector in Phoenix as the population continues to grow and there are no rent control measures as there are in other top markets such as California and New York," he says.