Morguard North American REIT signs two deals in U.S. worth a total of US$633M.

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Morguard North American Residential Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:MRG.UN) has signed a pair of deals worth a total of US$633 million to buy 6,474 apartments and townhouses in the United States.

Under the first deal, the trust will acquire a dozen apartment and townhome complexes including a total of 3,752 units in Dallas, Denver, Tampa, Fla., Raleigh, N.C., and Atlanta.

The second deal will see the trust buy a dozen apartment and townhome complexes including a total of 2,722 units in Pensacola, Fla., Mobile, Ala., and south-west Louisiana from Morguard Corp.

The trust said it will assume about US$400 million in mortgages and pay the rest using other available sources of funds.

“Given investors’ exceptionally strong interest in apartments, it was only a matter of time before that interest extended to brokerage firms that specialize in bringing buyers and sellers of apartment properties together, and perhaps providing them with financing at the same time.

In a deal that closed on the last day of 2012, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage acquired Phoenix-based Hendricks & Partners, a national multifamily sales brokerage firm with 37 offices in the U.S. Berkadia is a commercial real estate lender and special servicer that was formerly part of Capmark Financial and is now owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment firm.”

View the full article HERE.

From the Globe and Mail:

H&R Retail Real Estate Investment Trust believes now is the time to take over Primaris Retail Real Estate Investment Trust, with Target Corp. about to kick off an invasion of Canada by foreign retailers, H&R’s CEO says.

By way of its bid, H&R is seeking to get bigger and stronger at a time when the mall ownership game is changing, Tom Hofstedter, the CEO of H&R, told analysts on a conference call Thursday morning.

In a note prior to the conference call, Royal Bank of Canada analyst Neil Downey wrote that executives at H&R would be under pressure Thursday to show investors how the firm would benefit from the takeover.

It appears that H&R is banking on the size of the merged businesses and organic income growth from Primaris’s portfolio, but “the story is complex, and at least initially, it will require some “selling” to the market,” Mr. Downey wrote.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/hr-ceo-says-time-right-for-primaris-bid-as-target-invasion-looms/article7460599/

An 8-storey, 43-unit apartment building located at Alma and West 5th on the Westside of Vancouver has sold for $12,800,000, equivalent to a 2.9% cap rate and $298,000 per unit. The building was built in 1966. 2121 Alma Street had been listed for sale in November 2012.

Colliers’ Q4 2012 retail report shows that the Metro Vancouver retail leasing market sustained healthy growth heading into 2013. Notable highlights from the Colliers retail report.:

• From a leasing perspective, there was a spike in activity with many international, national and eclectic retailers looking for space. This is evident through the vacancy rate decreasing to 3.5% this quarter from 3.9% in the second quarter of 2012.
• The most notable changes in vacancy were in Squamish decreasing from 7.1 to 3.3 percent; Chilliwack decreasing from 10.9 to 9.3 percent; North Delta decreasing from 5.9 to 3.6 percent; and Richmond decreasing from 6.2 to 4.7 percent.
• Both transactional sales volume and deal velocity maintained a steady pace through the last quarter of 2012. From the fourth quarter of 2011 to the end of the third quarter of 2012, 125 transactions closed in the improved retail property category (for properties valued over $1 million).
• Harbour Centre unveiled plans for a multi-million dollar redevelopment of the landmark Harbour Centre building in Downtown Vancouver. In the spring of 2013, they will embark on an extensive redevelopment of the food court, a refresh of the lower level common area, and a newly revitalized streetscape of the complex.