Covid 19 coronavirus: Which listed real estate businesses hardest-hit by lockdowns - analysis

Bargain hunters - Boxing Day sale shoppers at Commercial Bay. Photo / Brett Phibbs

An analyst examining the lockdown's effects on the multibillion-dollar NZX real estate sector says retail-heavy stocks could suffer more than warehouse or logistics-heavy ones.

Rohan Koreman-Smit, an analyst at Forsyth Barr, said just how affected the listed entities were by the pandemic and Auckland's lockdown would depend on their exposure to different market segments.

Listed companies and trusts have in the last few years repositioned investment portfolios out of places like Christchurch and Wellington and more in Auckland, he noted.

Many were therefore more exposed to the longer lockdown in that city, he said.

Landlords with heavier retail holdings might need to write off the most rent money, he said.

"Retailers haven't been able to trade, and certainly for the many weeks in Auckland in particular. Retail is likely to be the hardest hit and get the most rent abatement," he said.

During last year's first lockdown, retailers suffered the most, he recalled, and they got the most rent abatement.

Listed businesses with big retail holdings are:

• Precinct Properties with shops and restaurants in the $1b Commercial Bay,

• Kiwi Property Group which owns Sylvia Park, the lifestyle centre opposi