Stock price when the opinion was issued
Their asset class is one of the more coveted by institutions, because they are a form of lower income housing. Apartments, versus home ownership, is where a lot of people are migrating as people can’t get approval for mortgages. As a result, there has been significant rental growth in the US market, and homeownership continues to be at a multi-decade low. Hopefully that starts to reverse course, but in the interim, there is a lot of momentum for US apartments. Prefers Equity Residential (EQR-N). Dividend yield of 6%.
They own apartments in the U.S. sunbelt like Dallas. They've done a good job of executing. The recent rogue takeover attempt did lead to a positive thing--the company has formed a committee to facilitate a possible sale. They own some good properties, but the stock is now expensive. Their last numbers were good. They raised rents and have few vacancies. But it's speculative now and you could lose.
A recent IPO. Most of their multifamily assets are located in Texas. They don’t have huge holdings in Houston, so there is not the energy risk. The quality of their assets is sound. Occupancy and rents are trending higher. Trading slightly under its US$ NAV, likely because it is small and it is going to be difficult for them to grow. Its distribution yield is secure. He prefers Avalonbay Communities (AVB-N).