5 major Canadian housing REITs launch ForAffordable.ca
In the face of a federal government plan to re-examine the tax treatment of real estate investment trusts (REITs), and economic conditions which make it increasingly challenging to build affordable housing in major urban markets, five of Canada’s largest residential owners/operators have launched ForAffordable.ca.
Created by Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAPREIT), Boardwalk REIT, Killam Apartment REIT, InterRent REIT and Minto Apartment REIT, the campaign seeks to educate people about the role of REITs in providing affordable housing as well as engage with governments to try to increase the supply.
The founding members are Canada’s largest publicly traded residential rental REITs.
“Canada is experiencing the worst crisis of housing affordability and supply in a generation,” said Mark Kenney, president and CEO of CAPREIT, in the announcement.
“Put simply, there just haven’t been enough new homes built to match the country’s population growth. That is making housing less affordable for an increasing number of Canadians.
“Governments across Canada are looking for solutions to this historic challenge, but some of the discussion around solutions has been driven by misperceptions about how REITs do business.
“ForAffordable.ca aims to make sure that policymakers’ search for workable solutions is informed by facts and evidence.” …[Read More]