Dunne: There are a few, but foremost on my mind is the increase in pre-sales of apartment communities, that is buyers purchasing new apartment communities with zero to 35 percent leasing. This, of course, is a far more difficult transaction to finance. We were involved in three pre-sales in 2014—one in Jacksonville, Florida; and then Parkway Lofts in Bloomfield, New Jersey and 75 Tresser Boulevard in Stamford, Connecticut. Parkway Lofts, the Bloomfield deal, was 361 units that sold for $105 million. This all cash acquisition closed at about 35 percent occupancy and sold to Clarion.

GlobeSt.com: Data from Forrester Research shows that US online sales are expected to reach $370 billion by 2017. With the Internet increasingly taking sales from brick-and-mortar retailers, what is investors' current appetite for retail assets?

Dunne: I think the answer is that investor interest in retail assets generally remains strong notwithstanding these trends. Certain retailers get more investor scrutiny, like Office Depot, Staples, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy, whose sales are increasingly registered online. There is still a high level of interest for good quality retail assets—particularly food-anchored centers close to metropolitan areas. For example, we represented the owner of the 12 shopping center, $408 million KIF I portfolio (in 7 states) and those assets saw very strong interest.

Closer to Manhattan in Westchester County, NY, we saw strong buyer interest for Bedford Green, a ShopRite-anchored shopping center. Similarly, in Queens, New York we represented the seller of the Shops at Grand Avenue, a Stop & Shop-anchored center where nearly 20 offers were generated. The property traded for $56 million at a sub 5 cap. So clearly there is still good demand for retail, though I think the further you get out from a major metro area—or if you're without a food anchor—the weaker demand gets.

GlobeSt.com: Apartment sales in gateway, urban markets have been booming, but what about apartment sales in suburban markets? Did you see anything different in 2014 and did demand increase in lockstep? Do you expect this to continue into the remainder of 2015?

Dunne: I anticipate demand for suburban apartments will be strong in 2015, due to the fact that urban markets experienced rent growth far earlier than the suburbs and because many investors are seeking higher yields that the suburbs offer. While suburban rent growth varies by asset and market, we expect overall sales activity for suburban apartments will be above 2014 levels.

GlobeSt.com: We're several months into 2015—what trends do you see emerging for the remainder of the year related to your work nationally?

Dunne: We're seeing increased demand for high quality infill industrial and retail, yet there is a dearth of offerings in this sector. That adds up to more pressure on pricing. For many assets and locations, we expect record pricing in 2015.