MIAMI-The CREFC January Conference concluded Wednesday with a look at the buying environment in 2012 and a closing general session that featured Rep. Edward Royce’s (R-CA) dim view of the regulatory environment.

Harris Trifon, global head of CRE Debt Research at Deutsche Bank Securities, moderated the “Who’s Buying?” panel, which explored 2012 projections for valuations of property and capital flowing into the market.

“Just to put a little context around who bought in the previous year, volumes were up in the US about 30% to 40%, nearly approaching $200 billion,” Trifon said. “Interestingly, though, about 50% of the transactions by market value were concentrated in only four markets, ones we’ve all heard a lot about—Manhattan, Boston, Washington, DC and Chicago.”