These REITs earn steady cash flow

Article Excerpt

Despite the recession, top-quality real estate investment trusts (REITs) continue to have high occupancy and steady lease rates. As well, today’s low interest rates will help many REITs refinance their mortgages more cheaply, or fund expansion. We still advise against overindulging in REITs. But if you stick with those with strong cash flows and sound balance sheets, like the three we recommend on this page, you should make attractive long-term returns with relatively low risk. RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST $15.28 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 233.1 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest REIT. It has interests in a portfolio of 247 shopping malls across Canada, including 13 under development. In all, these contain over 59 million square feet of leasable area. RioCan’s occupancy rate stands at 97.5%. In the three months ended March 31, 2009, RioCan posted revenue of $191.1 million, up 4.2% from $183.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit was unchanged, at $0.32….