Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your recommendation on Canadian Apartment Properties REIT? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT, $28.42, symbol CAR.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 112.3 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; www.capreit.net), is a real estate investment trust that owns multi-unit residential properties, including apartment buildings and townhouses. In all, the trust owns 41,958 units, including 35,674 residential suites and 30 manufactured-home communities, or trailer parks, with a total 6,284 sites. Its occupancy rate is 97.9%. Fifty-eight per cent of CAP REIT’s units are in Ontario, followed by Quebec (21%), B.C. (9%), Alberta (6%), Nova Scotia (4%), Saskatchewan (1%) and Prince Edward Island (1%). In the three months ended December 31, 2014, CAP REIT’s revenue rose 3.3%, to $128.1 million from $124.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit jumped 23.5%, to $0.42 from $0.34, thanks in part to higher rents. The trust yields 4.2%. Low interest rates have made home ownership more affordable. This has cut into demand for rental properties, since more tenants can now afford to buy condominiums or starter homes. However, immigration rates remain…