“Is distress in the real estate markets behind us?” was the main question on the minds of the respondents to the latest survey by the Urban Land Institute — and the consensus seemed to be a cautious “yes.”

All the hoopla surrounding the announcement of a $172 million, two-hotel project near the Los Angeles Convention Center looks like more than mere boosterism. The city needs modern hotel product to continue attracting convention dollars.

Jones Lang LaSalle sees a continued flow of capital into the hospitality sector during 2012, but specifically sees increased investor interest in the select-service arena. Sales of those portfolios are expected to double their 2011 levels this year.

A new report by Marcus & Millichap predicts that room demand will grow in the coming year. Driven by increased capital flows and a falling unemployment rate, the national occupancy rate could rise as high as 60.7 percent — a 0.6 percent increase from 2011.

Exterior insulation and finish systems, or EIFS, has long been applied to residential properties but is now catching on as an insulation solution in the commercial sector. These case studies illustrate different applications that have produced energy cost reductions.

Last year was a good year for the Manhattan hotel market and, according to CBRE Group Inc.’s Winter 2012 Snapshot, this year will bring more of the same: solid performance and rising investment sales volume.

The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia, the premier 111-room lodging destination on the city’s celebrated Rittenhouse Square, became Hersha Hospitality Trust’s first purchase of the year for the sum of $42 million.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc. will be playing key roles as a broker and consultant on a $1 billion, 9.2 million-square-foot development in Apopka, Fla., that is expected to include a regional mall, offices, a college campus, hospital, housing and a merchandise mart.

Prism Hotels & Resorts’ management responsibilities have just expanded by 1,877 guestrooms, now that the company has taken on an assignment from a New York-based REIT to oversee a group of 12 full-service hotels in Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina.

HNA Property Holding Group Co. purchased the 165-room Cassa Hotel in midtown Manhattan from Assa Properties for $130 million. The transaction was helped by a $65 million senior loan from PCCP L.L.C.