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For example, RioCan approved $15 million in rent deferral requests from its commercial tenants, representing 17 per cent of gross April rents, and First Capital approved deferrals on 6.5 per cent of its tenants, with an equal amount of pending requests yet to be dealt with.
“We continue to be increasingly worried about May rent payments,” Rodrigues said in his note. “We think rent deferrals could total 40 per cent to 60 per cent.”
SmartCentres, which collected 70 per cent of the rent expected after deferrals offered to some of its smaller independent retailers, said it was “disappointed” that some “strong, stable companies” didn’t pay though it didn’t name them.
A significant portion of the REIT’s portfolio is made up of power centres, large suburban spaces that house big-box retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot and Walmart Canada, its biggest tenant.
“Power centres are a slightly more favourable investment that enclosed malls, but they still have not been performing as well as residential, industrial or office spaces,” Ma said.
SmartCentres’ stock has lost about a third of its value since the start of the pandemic in late February.
Mark Rothschild, a long-time real estate analyst at investment firm Canaccord Genuity Corp., said industrial and residential REITs are viewed as more stable in the current environment, while retail REITs and those associated with seniors housing are viewed as riskier and likely to be negatively impacted.
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