The dishevelled listed property trust sector took another hit as three big trusts, Dexus, Macquarie Office Trust and Mirvac, slashed a combined $1.7bn from the value of their property portfolios.

The sector's assets have fallen in value by more than AUS$7bn in recent months, and analysts say the carnage could rise to well over AUS$30bn.

Yet, despite the latest round of write-downs, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 REIT index rose 18.8 points to 703.4 yesterday after hitting a 21-year low on Thursday.

The Australian