Nearly 600 healthcare real estate executives attended the conference, which was sponsored by the Building Owners & Managers Association. "There are a lot of distressed buyers out there that are under pressure to make a move [to acquire assets]," says Al Pontius, managing director of Marcus & Millichap's healthcare real estate group. "There's a window right now for sellers, but demand will moderate come next year."

Pontius participated in a general sessions titled. "Capital Markets 2010: A Building Year", which was moderated by Jonathan Winer, executive vice president of Seavest Inc. The panel also included: Jerry Doctrow, managing director of Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc.; Jeffrey Cooper, executive managing director of Savills LLC; Jim Moloney, managing director and head of real estate for Cain Bros. & Co.; and P.J. Camp, managing director of Shattuck Hammond Partners.

Publicly-traded healthcare REITs are under pressure to invest the capital they've raised since the capital markets have loosened Doctrow notes. Over the past 18 months, these companies have raised more than $1.5 billion in debt and have more than $5.3 billion available on their balance sheets.