REITS Spending on Shopping Centers

NEW YORK CITY-The heavyweights are grabbing up shopping centers in the Northeast for the most practical of reasons: because they can. With cash on hand, portfolios of occupied properties and historically low interest rates, the major REITS are the primary buyers of community shopping centers these days.

Faith Hope Consolo, vice chairman of Garrick-Aug Worldwide tells GlobeSt.com, “It’s the big guys, the ones you know,” that are in acquisition mode, she says. “The Kimkos, the Argent Partners, all the big REITS. They have the wherewithal to withstand good times and bad and can afford to take a long-term view.”

The economic strategy behind buying shopping centers in a soft economy is as basic as capitalism can get. “It’s like the stock market. You buy low and ride the market back up. There are opportunities for companies that have cash.”