The amount of equity raised by non-traded REITs experienced a harsh return to earth last year with the departure of AR Global Investments from the sector. The 35 firms that now make up the non-traded REITs sector raised only $4.8B last year. That is less than half of the $10.2B that was raised in 2015, the last year AR Global was active in the non-traded REIT sector, according to Trepp.

AR Global, formerly known as AR Capital, was one of the largest sponsors of non-traded REITs and raised one-third of the sector's record $20B in 2013, before departing the business in 2015, citing pending regulations and market uncertainty affecting how capital could be raised.

The pending regulations that spurred AR Global to leave the sector and curb capital raising are the Labor Department's fiduciary rule, which could be overturned by the new administration.

Uncertainty over whether the fiduciary rule will be overturned has the sector's players cautious about raising funds. Still, there is good activity in non-traded REITs, according to Trepp. Investors interested in the sector are now finding a wider range of institutional-grade offering shares and greater liquidity without the punitive fees that used to be part of doing business in the sector.