We've deployed Bisnow's worldwide journalistic resources (well, at least one of our reporters) to spend this week in San Diego covering the Mortgage Bankers Association's annual meeting,and the scoops are flying: NY-based Allianz Real Estate of America has partnered with a life company to purchase the Dallas-areaStonebriar Centre Mall.

CEO James Stolpestad says the firm also recently bought a49% interestin the Four Oaks in Galleria office complex in Houston. He says for this year, Allianzs equity side will besearching for malls and lifestyle centers, primarily in coastal markets--as the US GDP grows, so do the rents at retail properties.Allianz has $2 trillion in assets under management, and a total CRE portfolio of more than $30B. Since taking over as CEO three years ago, he's begun to push the firm into equity investments with funds and in JVs.

We also partied atop Mister As famous rooftop restaurant with our hosts JLL, where you can watch airplanes approach San Diego International at eye-level. We caught up JLLs Jonathan Schneider (out of Boston), Michael Gwin,and Jimmy Board (both from Houston), Starwood Property Trusts Warren De Haan, and JLLs John Ream (out of Houston as well). Jonathan is still feeling the buzz of arranging financing for the $35M sale of 11 Beacon St in Downtown Boston.

We sat down with Arbor Commercial Mortgages COO John Caulfield about what he sees for 2013s lending market. And it may all beabout the conduits. To me, its a game changer with the conduits coming back into the market, John says. It means there is more capital chasing deals, in turn creating competition. But, with new capital in the marketplace, John questions whether lenders in general will feel the "pressure to be more aggressive. We have to be careful to manage the borrowers expectations.