Locations
CAPREIT (CAR-UN-T) continues to be one of the most active buyers and sellers of Canadian real estate, announcing four new transactions with a total value of $194 million - including the acquisitions of two recently constructed apartment buildings in Western Canada.
“We’re kicking off the new year on an exciting note with these strategic transactions, through which we’re continuing to upgrade the quality and enhance the diversification of our core platform in Canada,” Mark Kenney, the president and chief executive officer of CAPREIT, said in the announcement.
“These recently constructed, mid-market rental properties fit perfectly into our target portfolio positioning, and we’re acquiring them at an age where they provide an ideal balance of embedded value and growth potential.
“We’re equally pleased to be able to keep playing our part in supporting the Canadian housing eco-system, through the investment of our capital into newer purpose-built rental properties, and we’re looking forward to doing more of this in 2025.”
CAPREIT's two acquisitions
The most recent acquisition is The MacLaren, a 27-storey, 240-suite rental property located at 124th Street and 102nd Avenue in the Wîhkwêntôwin (formerly Oliver) District of Edmonton. The concrete building was constructed in 2019, developed by Vancouver-based Edgar Development.
It includes a full suite of amenities and access to multiple public transit routes. The MacLaren is about a five-minute drive to downtown Edmonton; a nine-minute drive to Rogers Place and a 12-minute walk to Victoria Golf Course.
The core property was acquired free of mortgage financing for $79.4 million, which represents $465 per leasable residential square foot.
In January, CAPREIT closed on the acquisition of 43Twenty, a purpose-built 41-suite building in Vancouver. The property was constructed in 2015, and contains “meaningful mark-to-market rents”, the trust notes, providing long-term revenue growth potential.
The property was acquired for $18.2 million, funded in part through the assumption of a $5.5-million mortgage at 2.3 per cent interest, with a remaining term of one year.
The moves come as CAPREIT continues to modernize its Canadian apartment portfolio. The Toronto-based REIT owns interests in approximately 48,700 housing units, with holdings in both Canada and Netherlands.
“We’ve strengthened our Western Canadian presence with the addition of these two on-strategy properties, which boast affordable rents averaging in the high $2-per-square-foot range,” Julian Schonfeldt, CAPREIT’s chief investment officer, said in the announcement.
Divestments in Brampton and Charlottetown
The divestments involve properties in Brampton, just north of Toronto, and in Charlottetown, for a total of $96.8 million. CAPREIT also closed on a previously announced sale, with 717 apartment suites being divested to the City of Montreal for $103.8 million.
In January, CAPREIT sold the non-core building containing 242 residential suites in Brampton for $73.8 million. Part of the proceeds were used to repay a $31.7-million mortgage.
The 138-suite portfolio in Charlottetown was unencumbered by debt, and was sold for $23 million.
“These transactions demonstrate that we’re able to sell our non-core legacy properties at prices that are at, or above, IFRS fair value, while also purchasing well-located, high-quality buildings at meaningful discounts to replacement cost,” Schonfeldt said in the announcement. “Our current capital reallocation plan remains robust, and we’ll continue to execute on value-enhancing transactions that benefit all of our key stakeholders moving forward.”
Industry Events
Palais des congrès de Montréal
Locations
