"Buyers have no pressure to invest any time soon," said Robert White, founder and president of Real Capital Analytics. In Wednesday's GlobeSt.com webinar "Opportunities in Distressed Assets", White and his fellow panelists explored the reasons that buyers are holding back even as the opportunities continue to proliferate. The hour-long discussion was moderated by Danielle Douglas, managing editor of Real Estate Forum.

One factor keeping deal velocity low is that the true volume of distressed assets and loans is "just starting to come to light," White said. His firm has tracked about $61 billion of distressed assets thus far in the current cycle, but panelists agreed that there will be much more to come. "We're seeing distress accumulating very rapidly," said White, adding that it's "across all property types."

Bernard Haddigan, SVP and managing director at Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, cited the $800 billion worth of CMBS product across the US. He noted that 70% of it is collateralized by retail, office and hospitality--the three commercial property sectors most likely to see increased levels of distress and therefore generate the most opportunity.