This year, industrial investment demand has reached new heights in response to strong ecommerce activity during the pandemic. Class-A industrial properties now come with a hefty price tag and a reduced cap rate—but investors should be cautious. While e-commerce giants like Amazon may warrant the high cost, not all class-A industrial is equipped to accommodate these users.

"Industrial has changed over the last 15 years, but it hasn't fully changed yet," Jonathan Needell, president and chief investment officer of KIMC, tells GlobeSt.com. "You have 20% of sales in the market today that are trading for ridiculous cap rates that are leased to household names, like Amazon, but they are fundamentally a different product than even class-A industrial for the rest of the market."

In the last decade, industrial product has changed dramatically. Only a few years ago, 32-foot clear heights, dock-high levers, expansive truck courts and one per 1,000 parking had become the standard for ecommerce companies. "At that time, everyone was looking around wondering how industrial could get any more sophisticated? Then the ecommerce user came a long," says Needell. Today, industrial buildings come with 40-foot clear heights, three per 1,000 parking ratios and even mezzanine office space.