The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed into law during the first half of 2010, is expected to significantly increase demand for medical office space, GlobeSt.com reported.

The recent acquisition of a national portfolio of hospitals by Healthcare Trust of America is an example of how brokerages are pursuing opportunities in that sector of the commercial real estate market.

“Understanding the long-term care industry was essential to facilitating the combined sale of this group of specialty hospitals,” said Lee Asher, who heads the Healthcare Capital Markets Group of CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. (CBRE).

Asher, who along with CBRE’s Chris Bodnar represented the Inland American Real Estate Trust in the $102 million sale of four acute-care hospitals in Georgia, Texas and Florida, said the transaction “showcases how the CBRE platform can be applied to the health-care industry, specifically with specialty medical product offerings.”

Health-care reform, which expands coverage to as many as 32 million previously uninsured individuals, will support increased demand for medical space, according to a medical office research report on the second half of 2010 by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services Inc.