In a recent update, Guelph-based Skyline Apartment REIT announced it finished 2022 in good standing and anticipates further growth opportunities for the year ahead. In 2022, the REIT made several new additions, adding more than $360.4 million in land and property assets and bringing the total number of suites in its portfolio to 22,259. Skyline Apartment REIT currently comprises 250 properties in 61 communities in seven provinces across Canada, with 22,259 total suites.
Over the course of the year, Skyline Apartment REIT acquired:
- A seven-property portfolio in Nova Scotia and Ontario
- 176 Vidal Street South & 985 Maxwell Street in Sarnia, Ontario
- 6117 Uplands Drive in Nanaimo, British Columbia
- 230 Forsyth Street North in Sarnia, Ontario
- 411 & 423 Despard Avenue in Parksville, British Columbia
- 455 rue Sicard in Mascouche, Quebec
- 76 Mary Street in Chatham, Ontario
While Skyline Apartment REIT typically maintains a buy-and-hold strategy, in 2022 the REIT said it identified several non-core assets that were appropriate for strategic disposition. The sale of these six assets, totaling 582 suites and 81,531 square feet of commercial space, resulted in a combined sales price of $182.9 million. The equity surfaced from the sales will be used toward accretive property acquisitions to ensure maximum value for Skyline Apartment REIT Unitholders.
In 2022, the REIT also completed construction on two new Ontario developments in communities with low vacancy rates. In August 2022, it opened Lancaster Park Apartments, a new development in Welland, Ontario, and later opened Twamley Manor Apartments in the community of Listowel.
In B.C., Skyline purchased two new properties adding 108 rental suites to the rental market in Nanaimo and 122 rental suites in Parksville.
2022 also saw Skyline and partners break ground on a Permanent Supportive Housing development that will provide living spaces for 32 people in the Guelph, Ontario, area. Skyline donated the land for the development, and various businesses within Skyline Group of Companies will continue to provide expertise and resources until the project is complete.
Outlook for 2023
As the rental market continues to see high demand due to inflation and rising interest rates causing many would-be home buyers to keep renting, Matthew Organ, President, Skyline Apartment REIT, anticipates the trend will continue through 2023.
“While demand for affordable rental housing is strong, new supply has not been able to keep up, as labour shortages and high construction costs are impacting development,” he said. “New construction is essential to meeting the rising demand for rentals and addressing the housing supply shortage that Canada is facing. Skyline Apartment REIT sees value in continuing to advance new rental housing development in markets where this supply is needed most.”
Visit SkylineWealth.ca to learn more.
