Buyers of distressed office assets will be taking notes this year. Lots of them. That's the word from those who track the market in the US, where note sales figure to offer the most opportunities for investors in 2011, and likely in years beyond. "We'll see significantly more note-sale business this year than last year," says Peter Nicoletti, managing director of special asset services for Jones Lang LaSalle.

Spencer Levy, senior managing director of recovery and restructuring services at CB Richard Ellis Capital Markets (and a member of DAI's editorial board) sounds a similar theme. "Of all of the resolution strategies between lender and borrower-short sales, REO sales and note sales-the one that really led the charge in 2010 was note sales," says Levy, who expects such deals to lead the pack again this year.

Note sales have emerged as the preferred resolution strategy for a variety of reasons. For one, they provide a means for buyers to gain control of the underlying real estate. For sellers, such as banks and special servicers, they provide a means to dispose of troubled assets without having to go through foreclosure to sell the assets as REO.