San Francisco investors might find better opportunities outside of their home base this year. While there is still opportunity in some market segments, like multifamily, investors are more likely to reach investment goals by expanding into new and rapidly growing markets. Marcus & Millichap's Levin Johnston brokerage group advised clients through this strategy this year, brokering more than $160 million in deals from the fourth quarter of 2020 to date.

"Many of our clients have been focused on investments in Northern California, which is our geographic area of specialty," Robert Johnston, senior managing director at Marcus & Millichap, tells GlobeSt.com. "While this region, and the Bay Area in particular, remains a strong market for multifamily investment, there is pent-up demand for deals; therefore, it behooves investors to consider going outside the box into different markets where they might be able to reach their investment goals more readily."

The group is advising clients to look at a broad range of investment assets, and it is finding success. One example is the sale of a Walgreens in New Mexico. "This has proven to be a smart strategy for many of our clients. "We recently represented the seller, a California-based private investor, in arranging the $6 million sale of a net-leased Walgreens drug store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, marking our team's initial foray into this market. The transaction was one of several we arranged in markets outside of California—with favorable results for our clients," says Johnston.