Macerich Defaults on $399M in Mall Loans

The real estate investment trust defaulted on loans tied to two malls as it offloads underperforming properties to rebalance its portfolio.

Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Retail

Macerich Defaults on $399M in Mall Loans

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Macerich defaulted on $399M in loans across two properties, including a $74M loan on Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls and a $325M loan on Fresno Fashion Fair. The defaults were disclosed on the company's third-quarter earnings call, following an earlier $76M default on Twenty Ninth Street in Boulder, Colorado.

Why it matters

The defaults reflect pressure on underperforming retail real estate as Macerich works to rebalance its portfolio and improve its balance sheet. The moves signal how the company is prioritizing disposals of weaker assets over holding struggling malls.

Macerich has sold about $290M in dispositions year to date and targets $300M to $400M in asset sales or handbacks. Its Niagara Falls outlet mall's occupancy has dropped as low as 60% in recent years, while the company's quarterly loss narrowed from roughly $90M a year earlier to $16.7M.

The players

Macerich

Macerich is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns and operates regional shopping malls across the United States.

The details

Macerich announced the defaults on its third-quarter earnings call: the $74M Niagara Falls outlet loan on October 6 and the $325M Fresno Fashion Fair loan on November 2. The Niagara loan has already been modified twice, and the special servicer for the Fresno mall is negotiating terms that would temporarily hold off enforcement.

October 6: Macerich defaulted on the $74M Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls loan.
November 2: Macerich defaulted on the $325M Fresno Fashion Fair loan.
End of 2026: Macerich's off-market mall purchase is expected to close.
Mid-2028: Dick's House of Sport is expected to open at the Fresno mall.

Retail Real Estate Pressure

Macerich's defaults fit a multiquarter plan to rebalance its portfolio by offloading underperforming malls, a strategy the company has pursued alongside its disposition sales. The Niagara Falls mall's occupancy falling as low as 60% illustrates the weaker assets Macerich is moving to sell or hand back.

Shoppers at the affected malls may see changes in tenant mix or property ownership as Macerich sells or hands back underperforming centers. The Fresno mall's planned Dick's House of Sport location, expected to open by mid-2028, points to where the property is headed.

The takeaway

Mall defaults and asset sales show that retail real estate valuations are being reset, and property owners are choosing which centers to keep. Readers following local retail should watch which malls change hands or receive new anchor tenants.