The sentiment levels of consumers are sliding, which is not good news for the retail property market.

Investec Property Fund (IPF) has agreed the acquisition of a portfolio of 26 properties for an aggregate acquisition value of R7.1 billion from best-of-breed developer Zenprop.

The JLL South Africa research team has released its Q2 2015 research reports for the Johannesburg retail market, Johannesburg office market, Johannesburg industrial market and Cape Town office market with the following notable highlights.

Options on retail lease agreements that give shopping centre tenants certain future rights, often with punitive effects for the shopping mall owner, have come under the spotlight as SA’s retail centre industry matures and evolves to meet modern shopping trends.

Vukile Property Fund has secured a 33% R350 million stake in the 50,000sqm Thavhani Mall at Thavhani City in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, after signing a deal with the developers of the new regional shopping centre, Thavhani Property Investments (Pty) Limited. The acquisition will extend Vukile’s retail exposure.

Capco provides a rosy forecast, saying the outlook for retail and consumer confidence remains positive.

Spire Property Management continues to grow their national footprint and the retail component of their management contracts through the recent securing of a new retail centre in Kwazulu Natal.

Intu Properties has recorded a strong first half with 6 per cent growth in underlying earnings per share for the six months ended 30 June 2015.

Mall of Africa is scheduled to open its doors in April 2016 in the heart of Waterfall City.

With a 25 bases points increase in interest rates, consumers can expect tough times ahead with overall retail sales growth to range between 2% to 2.75% for the remainder of 2015.