With the largest owners of retail real estate, especially the publicly-traded REITs, focusing on dispositions, the portfolios of the firms that top our annual ranking of the top owners and managers of retail real estate continue to diminish.
For example, Simon Property Group, which perennially tops the rankings, reported that its U.S. portfolio at the end of 2011 was 10 million sq. ft. smaller than it was the year prior. General Growth Properties, which spun some of its assets off into Rouse Properties, had an even bigger drop from 164.1 million sq. ft. in 2010 down to 136.0 million sq. ft. in 2011. In fact, of the top 10 firms, only Kimco Realty Corp and Weingarten Realty reported larger portfolios in 2011 than in 2010.
On the management side, Simon’s portfolio shrunk by about 15 million sq. ft. But the largest third-party managers, CBRE Group and Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, each gained business in 2011
The ranking was compiled through an online survey emailed to past participants and publicized on our Web site and in our newsletters. Information for other firms was pulled from company Web sites and Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Top 25 Owners of Retail Real Estate