Walker & Dunlop L.L.C. has come through for Principal Management Partners with a $163.8 million loan package for the refinancing of a four-property apartment portfolio in Connecticut.

Aided by $52 million of financing placed by Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P., The Scion Group and Arch Street Capital Advisors have snapped up two student housing properties in Texas.

“Debt” is going to be the name of the game for the European real estate markets in 2012, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2012, the industry forecast published by PwC and the Urban Land Institute.

The Morgan Group, a company focused on development, construction and property management of luxury multi-family properties, has arranged financing of $146 million on behalf of its affiliated investment partnerships.

Acting on behalf of AIG, Holliday Fenoglio Fowler has obtained a $56 million loan for Sterling Collwood, a premier student-housing property near San Diego State University.

Financing to the tune of $155.3 million has been put in place for a 2,184-unit apartment portfolio in metropolitan Seattle by CBRE on behalf of owners Holland Partner Group and Invesco.

Oak Grove Capital’s financing origination spree for apartment properties continues as the mortgage lender completes a $45M Fannie Mae affordable loan for The Waves, a 488-unit rental community in Plantation, Fla.

Vornado Realty Trust rang out the old year by completing a $330 million refinance for 11 Penn Plaza, a 1.1-million square-foot office building in Manhattan.

Taken as a whole, 2011 was something of a tumultuous year, but an interesting time for commercial real estate. CPE presents our top 11 stories from 2011.

Oak Grove Capital has orchestrated financing for a three-property affordable housing portfolio in Southern Florida — owned by Banyan Realty — for $46.2 million through Fannie Mae’s Structured ARM product.