Mr Mellowes said the slowdown in acquisitions was due to vendors being unwilling to adjust their pricing expectations and buyers looking for value.Advertisement“Assets that owners thought were worthy [of trading on yields] of 5.5 per cent, we are now thinking are at least 6 per cent now,” Mr Mellowes said.
Writedowns over the six months to December resulted in a statutory net loss after tax of $95.1 million, a result that sent Region Group securities tumbling almost 4 per cent on Tuesday to $2.67.However, Region Group is well placed to navigate high debt costs– and is in a position to make opportunistic acquisitions – with gearing set to fall to below 30 per cent following the sale of the Carrara Shopping Centre and its remaining shares in listed rival Charter Hall Retail REIT.
However, a 35 per cent, or $6.1 million, rise in the group’s net interest expense as its weighted average cost of debt rose 80 basis points to 32 per cent wiped out these gains. This resulted in slightly lower operating earnings, or funds from operations – the key industry metric for real estate investment trusts – for the half year of $94.1 million.
He added that neighbourhood malls would be less affected by any downturn in consumer spending as interest rates continue to rise.