Some of the country’s largest shopping centres – about $2.5 billion worth – have been sitting on the market for more than a year with many being pulled as prospective buyers steer clear of major acquisitions amid fears the malls are overvalued.

The number of shopping centre transactions during the quarter to August were about 60 per cent less than in the same period a year ago, and even lower when compared with a year earlier, according to data compiled by PAR Group, a research agency that specialises in commercial property.