A Toronto-based real estate income trust has continued increasing its portfolio of B.C. properties.
Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (TSX:CAR.UN) closed its acquisition of eight residential apartment properties in the Greater Victoria area late last week, increasing the total number of suites it manages in the capital region to 815 from 508.
The income trust spent $46.7 million for the portfolio of low-rise and mid-rise buildings, funded by $25.6 million in new mortgage financing, the assumption of one $800,000 mortgage maturing in February 2016 and the balance from an acquisition and operating facility.
This is its second acquisition in B.C. in recent months.
In May, it completed the acquisition of a 162-suite luxury apartment property on West Georgia in downtown Vancouver for $27.5 million. Combined, the recent acquisitions expand the company’s B.C. property portfolio by 26% to a total of 2,268 suites in Metro Vancouver and Victoria.
The company has continued to increase its exposure to the B.C. market while selling off properties in Eastern Canada it deemed as non-core assets.
As it bought the Victoria properties, it sold five apartment properties totaling 570 suites in Kitchener and Mississauga for $45.9 million. It also sold two apartment buildings in Montreal comprising 338 suites for $14.8 million.
As a result of the transactions, CAP REIT’s B.C. properties now represent approximately 8% of the company’s total portfolio.
CAP REIT’s unit price range during the past week: between $15.08 and $15.64; 52-week high: $15.83; 52-week low: $11.02.