The STNL market is under severe pressure and will likely continue to contract for some time depending on how long things last but multifamily has always outperformed every other type of commercial property other than self storage.

Grocery, Drug Stores, Supercenters and Discount Stores: Retailers in these categories have been outperforming initial forecasts for 2020 due to a surge in sales on par with the holiday season as customers flocked in store to stock up on essentials.

They have outperformed stock picking over the last 10years by a lot...but not all stocks in the indexes are going to come out of this recession the same.

it's like investing in stocks, if you are smart enough and willing/able to do the work yourself, you can probably out perform an index fund...but, if you just want to spend a day or two picking and then a few hours every quarter, analyzing... you will probably not be able to out perform a decent mutual fund, even with the management fees/charges netted out.If you have a "day" job or other sources of income that generate more than the expense of the management, clearly your time is better spent doing other things.If you don't have other income, property management is not that hard for someone with average intelligence and decent work ethic.

@Harry NealStart with analyzing why mutual funds are a better investment, which carry higher fees than exchange traded funds and do not outperform them consistently.Also, investing with no capital leads to higher leverage and more risk.

Here's my thoughts how I out perform you (no offense intended whatsoever)... just the crux of your question as I perceive it:1.  

It has outperformed S&P year to date, it offers insurance in times of turmoil, it is *real* money in times of civilizational turmoil.

However, inside CRE, there are asset classes that outperform, even through a broader bear market.  

On the strong side: Utah on the whole experiences top-tier appreciation each year, with several submarkets of the Salt Lake MSA outperforming the state on the whole. 

You will get a much bigger bang for your buck and you’ll have something to compare to in 5-10 years once you buy out of state to see if your OOS rentals outperform your local investment.