Urbco now exists as a subsidiary of Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust, which was created last May.

Real estate income trusts take the cash flow produced by the company and return it to unit holders on a monthly basis.

The Urbco conversion has been a particularly good one for shareholders, said vice president Greg Herndier.

The company started with a $70 million public offering.

Herndier said undervalued stock previously trading in the $2 to $2.25 range was quickly worth about $5.50.

"There was imbedded value in the company that wasn't reflected in the stock prices. With the conversion, shareholders realized the full value within the company."

The company stocks were then converted to trust units, which start at $10. The same units are trading now at $12.08, a 20.9 per cent increase since May 31.

Even with that, most people buying trust units do so for the monthly income, said Herndier.

"Instead of leaving their money in the bank and collecting two per cent, people are going into trust units," said Herndier.

"They are low risk in nature because their debt loads are usually quite low.

"And the annual return is 10 or 11 per cent, which is a little better than what the banks pay."

Herndier noted instead of receiving five cents dividend annually on Urbco's $2 stock, trust unit holders were shortly receiving 11.5 per cent annually on the initial $10 units.

Northern Property REIT owns more than 1,600 residential rental units in NWT and Nunavut, including nearly 800 in Yellowknife alone.