Owner of the Westfield malls, Scentre Group, has seen the value of Australia’s largest shopping centre portfolio plummet in value by 10 per cent, over the past six months.
The official report will be released on August 25, but they have stated the ‘expected fall’ was “principally due to the estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
Scentre released figures last month that showed 96 per cent of stores in Westfield malls had reopened, with foot traffic at 86 per cent of pre-COVID levels.
This was before the recent Melbourne Stage 4 lockdowns, which are likely to drag these figures down again.
Shopping mall vacancy rates hit a 20-year high in May, with one in 10 stores in CBDs around the country sitting empty.
There has been some positive movement, however. Three weeks ago, two metro-Sydney shopping centres sold for 91.5m, a price that matched pre-COVID evaluations.
That same week, Crown Group announced their ambitious plans to build a billion-dollar retail portfolio.
“Neighbourhood centres have been the most robust performers through this COVID-19 period,” explained JLL’s Sam Hatcher.
“This has supported investor demand and liquidity in this part of the retail market.
“In fact, neighbourhood centres have accounted for, by far, the largest share of retail activity in 2020 to-date.”
