MINNETONKA, MN-The writing was on the wall for a drop in medical office building sales volume during 2013. After all, 2012 was a record-setting year, with sales totaling $5.52 billion, according to statistics from real estate research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc. That figure only included MOB transactions topping $5 million.

In addition, 2012 ended with quite a bang, as sales in Q4 totaled $1.95 billion, the largest quarterly sales total since RCA began accumulating such data back in 2001.

Professionals involved in healthcare real estate cited at least a couple of reasons why they believed the MOB sales volume would drop significantly from Q4 of 2012 to Q1 of 2013. For one, a significant capital gains tax break that included MOB sales sunsetted at the end of 2012, meaning owners thinking about selling would most certainly try to do so before the end of the year.