 KENNETH CHAN (DAILY HIVE) - A joint partnership between two Ontario-based investment firms will acquire 15 rental housing properties in Vancouver for a combined $292.5 million.
The deals were announced today, with InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust and Crestpoint Real Estate Investments each owning 50% of their newly acquired portfolio of 614 rental homes. Ten of these properties totalling 411 residential units are owned by Vancouver-based Hollyburn Properties, which listed the properties for sale on CBRE last fall. The remaining units are being acquired from five unnamed parties. A release states InterRent will manage the properties, and the acquisitions will be financed by a combination of cash and new short-term debt of about $190 million. The acquisitions are slated to close before the end of this month. This portfolio provides newcomer InterRent with critical mass in Metro Vancouver, where rental housing demand is exceptionally strong. In Vancouver, the average vacancy rate over the last five years has been at or below 1.1%. Vacancies remain relatively high even during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are thrilled to enter the Vancouver market, with scale, through the acquisition of this institutional-quality portfolio that is extremely well-located. The Vancouver rental market continues to exhibit strong, sustainable market fundamentals, with exposure to a growing tech sector,” said Mike McGahan, CEO of InterRent, in a statement. “We look forward to enhancing these properties with our best-in-class management platform, customer service and community-focused approach. This is a market we have targeted for a long time. We are very pleased to partner with a best-in-class team like Crestpoint for this portfolio.” The release emphasized the forecast of continued strong rental housing demand from Vancouver’s expanding tech sector growth and the region’s “outsized proportionate share of immigration,” especially from the impact of the federal government’s updated ambitious immigration targets for 2021 and 2022. Six of the properties are located in the West End, and several locations are in Marpole and Kitsilano. Most of the properties are older and carry future redevelopment potential. Here are the properties under the acquisition:
 HAYLEY WOODIN (BUSINESS IN VANCOUVER) - Owners of more than one million properties in the Lower Mainland can expect “moderate” increases in value on their 2021 assessment notices, according to BC Assessment.
"Despite COVID-19, the Lower Mainland residential real estate market has been resilient," noted BC Assessment deputy assessor Bryan Murao in a news release. "For the most part, homeowners can expect relatively moderate increases in value. This incredible strength is a stark contrast to last spring when the market came to a temporary standstill whereas the remainder of the year had a very steady and rapid recovery.” Total assessments for the Lower Mainland have increased by about $50 billion in value year over year, to $1.46 trillion in 2021 from $1.41 trillion in 2020. The majority of single-family and strata homes in the region will see increases between 0% and 10% on their assessments, which should be received in the days ahead. At the top of the range are single-family homes in the City of Vancouver and the District of Squamish (+10%), followed by detached homes on Bowen Island, (+9%) and in Pemberton, Mission and Port Coquitlam (+8%). According to data from BC Assessment, condos in the District of North Vancouver will see the greatest change in value (+6%), followed by strata units in the City of North Vancouver and Maple Ridge (+5%). Strata homes in the City of White Rock (-2%) and single-family homes on University Endowment Lands (-1%) are the only property categories that saw overall decreases in value. At the provincial level, the total value of residential real estate rose 4.2% year over year, to $2.01 trillion. BC Assessment notices reflect changes in the estimated market value of properties from July 1, 2019 to July 1, 2020. |