Australia’s REITs, having learnt hard lessons during the 2008 global financial crisis, now have lower levels of debt, more diverse funding sources and are likely to be able to avoid raising capital at deep discounts to meet their debt obligations, chief executives and analysts say.

While rising borrowing costs have risen sharply in Australia (and indeed globally), triggering concerns that real estate investment trusts will have to tap investors for cash, companies themselves play down the likelihood.