Pressure has been building over inflation expectations. When will the Federal Reserve cut interest rates? How long before CRE could return to, if not to a zero-rate policy, then closer to the pre-pandemic situation?

But another storm is on the horizon, one that some have been warning about although they've been largely ignored. The issue is the level of government debt, which is up to almost $34.6 trillion according to the non-partisan nonprofit Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The reason is structural factors, such as a large aging segment of the population, rising healthcare costs, and government spending that doesn't bring in enough taxes to pay for what Congress authorizes.

Deficit spending requires more borrowing through government debt instruments as Reuters reports. "Investors are bracing for a flood of U.S. government debt issuance that over time could dwarf an expected rally in bonds, as they see no end in sight for large fiscal deficits ahead of this year's presidential election," they wrote.