I'd rather have shares in RFF than a retail REIT. Extract from...

I'd rather have shares in RFF than a retail REIT.

Extract from AFR article:
Shopping mall landlords face a decade of pain
Challenging conditions
The pain being experienced by shopping centre landlords was highlighted by ASX-listed fund manager GPT, whose unlisted $4.8 billion malls fund delivered a total return over the past year of just 1.3 per cent. GPT also reported that net comparative NOI growth slowed to 1.4 per cent in June compared to 2.2 per cent in December, due to downtime, as well as reductions in turnover rent. "We see these results as reinforcing our view that retail conditions continue to deteriorate and flag this as a source of ongoing negative earnings revisions for retail landlords," said equity analysts at Citi Research in response to the GPT interim result.In another sign of the challenging conditions being faced by landlords, the chief executive of neighbourhood mall owner SCA Property Group, Anthony Mellowes, said the group was willing to take "slightly lower rents" in exchange for a more sustainable tenant base amid a "slowing retail market".Ms Lee said shopping centres best placed to weather the tough conditions were those in catchment areas with strong population and income growth."These could be in inner and middle ring suburbs that are seeing more medium and high-rise dwellings, boosting population growth above the national or state average – and where competitive supply is at a minimum.She said some centres may close or be repurposed "We don’t have the extent of overbuilding that exists in the US because of our more stringent planning regime and so we don’t expect the situation to get as bad here," Ms Lee said.