Sales of commercial real estate nationally reached nearly $64 billion in 2012, up 22 percent from the previous year to the highest annual total since 2004, according to the latest findings from industry analyst CoStar.

CoStar’s data through December ends a year in which the recovery in CRE pricing "rippled beyond the apartment market into office, industrial and even retail property, to a greater or lesser extent," according to a company statement.

Meanwhile, the level of distressed property sales fell to just 11.5 percent of transactions noted in December 2012, the lowest level since the end of 2008, which also helped put a solid foundation under prices, according to the company.

Commercial land prices also displayed signs of recovery in the last quarter of 2012, mostly due to strong developer demand for apartment sites.

Sales activity spiked in December as investors hustled to close deals prior to year-end, driven in part by concern over anticipated tax hikes and the restoration of previous tax rates for capital gains, according to CoStar.

In new development, twice the number of new multifamily units were delivered in 2012 than in the previous year, and construction in 2013 is on pace to bring an even bigger increase, according to CoStar.