TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (“CAPREIT”) (TSX:CAR.UN) announced today that, since its last transaction press release on September 5, 2023, it has completed two strategically aligned acquisitions of newly constructed Canadian rental properties for an aggregate purchase price of $90.5 million. CAPREIT also announced that it has disposed of two non-core buildings in Canada for combined consideration of $10.3 million, in addition to closing on the previously announced $53.9 million strategic sale in Calgary, Alberta. All amounts disclosed herein exclude transaction costs.

This month, CAPREIT acquired a newly constructed 12-storey, concrete purpose-built rental apartment containing 114 high-quality residential suites and over 5,000 square feet of commercial retail at grade. The building is situated in a strategic location in Vancouver, British Columbia, just steps from the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain, which is serviced by both the Expo and Millennium lines. Construction of the building was completed this year, and it was purchased, following lease-up, for $68.0 million. After adjusting for the retail component, the purchase price represents approximately $550,000 per suite, an attractive purchase price for a prime-located, newly built, concrete-construction apartment in Vancouver. The purchase was funded by cash from previously announced dispositions; however, an estimated $50.0 million in mortgage financing is expected to be arranged in the near-term using the CMHC MLI Select program.

In addition, in November, CAPREIT completed the on-strategy acquisition of a newly built 48-suite residential property with ocean views in Esquimalt, a municipality within the metropolitan Victoria area of southwestern British Columbia. The building was constructed in 2022 and was purchased for $22.5 million using cash from net disposition proceeds, with an estimated $13.0 million in mortgage financing expected to be secured in the short-term.

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CAPREIT also closed on three non-core dispositions in November, including the previously announced $53.9 million sale of an unencumbered 263-suite property built in 1978 in Calgary, Alberta. CAPREIT further disposed of another unencumbered property containing 21 residential suites built in 1978 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, for $1.7 million. An additional 78-suite non-strategic property built in 1966 in Québec City, Québec, was sold for $8.6 million, with proceeds used in part to repay $2.5 million in mortgage principal outstanding.

“These transactions bring our total capital reallocation activity in 2023 to above $700 million worth of Canadian properties, and we’re thrilled to close out the calendar year on this exciting note,” commented Mark Kenney, President and Chief Executive Officer. “In keeping with our strategic plan and progress to date, this latest phase of portfolio rejuvenation has further enhanced the average age, geographic exposure, and quality of our overall investment portfolio, and we’re looking forward to maintaining this momentum as we head into the new year.”

“We reached our annual target in 2023 and disposed of over $400 million in non-core buildings, while concurrently reinvesting approximately $300 million into purpose-built rental properties recently constructed in Canada’s most attractive and fastest-growing regions,” added Julian Schonfeldt, Chief Investment Officer. “We’re especially pleased with our latest two premium acquisitions, strategically located in highly coveted BC communities where we also own other new build assets, allowing for operational synergies. In particular, we’re proud to have just purchased a brand-new concrete building, located beside one of the most important transit hubs in Vancouver, at a capitalization rate in excess of 4%. Acquiring this prime new property at a discount to what it would cost to build today, without incurring the development or lease-up risk, illustrates the essence of the CAPREIT 2.0 strategy.”

ABOUT CAPREIT
CAPREIT is Canada’s largest publicly traded provider of quality rental housing. As at September 30, 2023, CAPREIT owns approximately 64,500 residential apartment suites, townhomes and manufactured home community sites well-located across Canada and the Netherlands, with approximately $16.5 billion of investment properties in Canada and Europe. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please visit our website at www.capreit.ca and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws which reflect CAPREIT’s current expectations and projections about future results. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “outlook”, “objective”, “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intent”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “consider”, “should”, “plans”, “predict”, “estimate”, “forward”, “potential”, “could”, “likely”, “approximately”, “scheduled”, “forecast”, “variation” or “continue”, or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this press release. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Although CAPREIT believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Forward looking statements in this press release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings that can be obtained on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Except as specifically required by applicable Canadian securities law, CAPREIT does not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing CAPREIT’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

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