Northern Property not adding more units
Lowest vacancy rate across company's holdings in Iqaluit
Walter Strong
Northern News Services
Published Monday, December 22, 2014
IQALUIT
Northern Property REIT's most recent quarterly financial results show a consistently decreasing vacancy rate in its Iqaluit holdings, but he company has no immediate plans to expand its property base.
The Qamutiq building in downtown Iqaluit was one of many properties involved in a nearly $51-million real estate transaction involving Northern Property REIT in 2012. Despite extremely low vacancy rates in Iqaluit, the company has no immediate plans to expand its holdings in the territory. - NNSL file photo
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Over the last three years, Northern Property has developed 162 new multi-family units in Iqaluit and reports that they are mostly filled. Last year alone Northern Property acquired five residential units at a cost of $1.8 million.
With 914 units in Iqaluit, the average vacancy rate over 2014 so far is approximately two per cent. This is lower than last year's average vacancy rate of just over three per cent.
Outside of Iqaluit, Northern Property has 182 units in the communities. Vacancy rate in those properties sits at 0.7 per cent.
But the company has no immediate plans to expand its holdings.
"We're always looking at opportunities as they present themselves," said Northern Property Chief Financial Officer Robert Palmer.
"Nunavut is one of our strongest markets, but there's nothing specific at the moment. We don't have a vacancy rate where we say at (vacancy rate) 'x' build more."
From all of its holdings, Northern Property returned $51.8 million in net income on $82.1 million in revenue for the quarter ending Sept. 30.
Northern Property has a portfolio of buildings across the NWT, Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador. The company holds $1.65 billion in property made up of 10,681 rental units and 1.14 million square feet of commercial space.
The company reported last week it will pay out a December 2014 monthly distribution of $0.1358 per trust unit, payable on Jan. 15 to holders of trust units as of Dec. 31.
Nunavut accounts for 25 per cent of Northern Property's revenues, followed by Alberta at 22 per cent and the NWT at 21 per cent.
Commercial property income is reported in terms of the average rent per square foot. Northern Property reported that Nunavut commercial space commands the highest per square foot rate out of all its operating areas at $26.09 per square foot. The next highest is the NWT at $23 per square foot.
