The Best Canadian REITs to Buy in September 2023 – Loans for Stock in Canada

Many investors don’t know the first thing about Canadian real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Most new investors these days strictly focus on learning how to buy stocks. But real estate exposure is also essential, and a real estate investment trust is an excellent way to make that happen.

The real estate problem in North America

Real estate assets, particularly residential properties, are not easy to acquire. Most first-time buyers get into apartments or townhouses because they’re a little cheaper. But it still requires a down payment, which many Canadians don’t have.

And, in surging markets like British Columbia or Ontario, rising prices are making it impossible for Canadians to enter the market.

How do you avoid the need for a down payment and expose yourself to the residential, commercial, office, and even industrial real estate sectors with potentially less than $10?

You can buy real estate investment trusts.

What is a real estate investment trust, and how does it expose you to the real estate markets?

A real estate investment trust, or REIT, is primarily modelled after a mutual fund. The business model is to pool investor capital together and manage anything from townhouse suites to industrial buildings for investors.

The low capital investment from investors allows them to gain exposure to a multitude of properties, generating cash flow for investors, typically resulting in a high dividend yield.

These trusts offer high dividend yields primarily because of their business structure. They must pay out practically all of their income after expenses to investors. Typically you’ll see a REIT payout 85-95% of its income back to shareholders.

As a result, share prices and the annual growth rates of REITs are not prone to significant movement. If you just started investing in 2020, the spread of covid-19 wreaked havoc on the REIT sector, so there were undoubtedly capital gains to be made in their recovery.

But now that share prices have recovered, it’s essential we don’t think of these trusts as growth stocks, but instead, as reliable income payers that are known for consistent growth of their distributions. Because it must pay out most of its profits back to shareholders, it’s hard for the company to drive strong capital growth.

What should you look for in a REIT?

First, let’s talk about earnings for Canadian REITs. Net income is meaningless in the REIT world. That’s because a REIT’s management must revalue the portfolio every quarter.

Now and again, the values of buildings change, which shows up in the net earnings number. That impacts the bottom line but not the accurate picture of profitability.

Best valuation metric to use instead to find the best REIT

Instead, as valuation metrics for a Canadian real estate investment trust, investors should use the following:

funds from operations (FFO)adjusted funds from operations (AFFO)capitalization rates (cap rates)

FFO is a REIT’s earnings, while AFFO roughly translates into free cash flow.

The cap rate tells how much you are paying for the buildings the REIT owns. It is found by dividing a REIT’s net operating income (NOI, think of it as EBITDA) by its enterprise value (market cap plus net debt).

You mustn’t use the dividend payout ratio with REITs

To judge the security of the distribution (REITs pay distributions, not dividends, again you can think of them as the same), an investor should look at the payout ratio based on AFFO, though FFO will work too.

Anything below 80% is considered ultra-safe, while anything above 95% is cause for concern.

Top REITs in Canada have a diverse tenant base

Much like having your rental property, these real estate investment trusts have to collect rent from tenants.

As a result, you want a diverse tenant base that includes companies with a long-standing reputation for rent payments and high occupancy rates.

A REIT that can maintain excellent occupancy rates should be held to a higher standard, especially during a broader market pullback, as we witnessed in 2020.

The best Canadian REITs have strong debt-to-asset ratios

Most Canadian REITs hang out at a 50% debt-to-assets ratio. Many are lower, but that’s usually because the REIT plans to borrow to fund expansion plans. The higher ones typically try to pay down debt, which a REIT usually does by selling non-core assets or issuing units.

Now that we’ve gotten that primer out of the way, let’s take a closer look at 6 of the best Canadian REITs, the kinds of companies that should provide a combination of stable distributions and some impressive capital gains.

Can you buy REIT ETFs?

Yes, there are a multitude of REIT ETFs in Canada. We have an article covering nearly all of the best Canadian REIT ETFs, which you can read here.

The most popular REIT ETFs in the country will be the BMO Equal Weight REITS Index ETF (TSE:ZRE) and the Vanguard Capped REIT ETF (TSE:VRE).

Lets have a peek at some of the top REITs on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2023.

The top REITs in Canada for 2023 and beyond

CT REIT (TSE:CRT.UN)Automotive Properties REIT (TSE:APR.UN)Dream Industrial REIT (TSE:DIR.UN)Allied Properties REIT (TSE:AP.UN)Canadian Apartments REIT (TSE:CAR.UN)

CT REIT (TSE:CRT.UN)

Occupancy rates were maintained, and this REIT was able to put up solid numbers throughout the pandemic. At the same time, many other retail REITs struggled significantly, particularly those focused on properties like shopping malls.

The REIT has a market cap of around $3.6B at the time of writing and is undoubtedly one of Canada’s largest REITs today. With it being more established, growth is likely to be slower, as analysts project the fund will grow revenue by around 4.2% annually over the next couple of years.

Although CT REIT certainly isn’t flashy, we don’t need it to be. Instead, with this fund, you’ll get rock-solid coverage ratios, one of the industry’s best payout ratios, and a growing and high-yielding distribution.

At the time of writing, CT REIT has an FFO-to-interest coverage ratio of 2.7 and one of the lowest debt-to-asset ratios of all REITS in Canada at 0.2. The company is paying out only 91% of trailing funds from operations towards the dividend, and it yields in the high 5% range.

It is a Canadian Dividend Aristocrat, having grown the dividend for ten straight years. Don’t expect anything more than low single digits annually in terms of dividend growth. However, this will be the case for most all REITs here in Canada.

Overall, if you’re looking for a high-yielding, reliable REIT in the retail sector, CT REIT is one you’ll want to look at.

Automotive Properties REIT (TSX:APR.UN)

Since the company’s 2015 IPO, it has more than doubled the size of its portfolio to 76 dealerships and 2.8 million square feet of leasable space. The company has properties from Alberta all the way to Quebec and is continually looking to expand its network.

There’s still ample growth potential too. Various dealer operators are using Automotive Properties to accelerate their own growth prospects since they can expand much faster if they don’t have to buy the underlying real estate.

Dilawri Group, Canada’s largest group of car dealerships, gives the REIT first dibs at any dealerships it sells. Automotive Properties’ portfolio will expand as more dealerships get sold to these big operators, a trend that should continue over the next decade.

Yes, the pandemic and fallout from it has slowed the expansion plans of the REIT, and negative sentiment towards the automobile sector coming out of the pandemic may hold this one up as well. But these are long-term businesses that value stability. They are not abandoning these locations anytime soon.

Over the last year, Automotive Properties has improved its balance sheet. The company’s D/E ratio now stands at 1, down from a high of 1.91 back in 2019. The company’s payout ratio is also reasonable, as the distribution accounts for only 84% of funds from operations.

Further increasing the company’s attractiveness, Automotive Properties is currently trading at a 12% discount to its net asset value.

Dream Industrial REIT (TSE:DIR.UN)

Dream Industrial REIT (TSE:DIR.UN) stands out as one of the few REITs poised to grow the top line by double-digits.

The REIT started 2023 with 321 properties and 70.4 million of gross leasable area. At the time of writing, it has a debt-to-equity ratio of only 0.65, debt to assets of only 0.37, and an interest coverage ratio of 6.5. With such a low amount of debt, Dream Industrial has the capacity to make a lot of acquisitions in 2023 and beyond.

 Not only has it grown by acquisition, but it is also growing by increasing its rents. Over the last year, the company has grown rent prices in the low single digits.

To top things off, occupancy rates are rebounding after a pandemic-impacted few years. The fund’s occupancy rate dipped into the low 90% range during the peak of the pandemic but now sits at 99%~.

Trading at a price to FFO of only 16 at the time of writing, the company is cheaper than major peers like Granite REIT (TSE:GRT.UN). It is also trading at a 15% discount to its net asset value, as the near-year-long correction of real estate investment trusts is leaving some attractive options on the table.

Allied Properties REIT (TSE:AP.UN)

The company is highly diversified and no tenant makes up a large portion of revenue. The company’s recent sale of its urban data centers will also allow it to reduce its debt profile and have liquidity available for expansion and acquisitions when needed.

As of writing, Allied is still trading at a 57% discount to its NAV. It has an attractive yield and the distribution is well covered with an FFO payout ratio of 77%. Further to this, Allied is one of only 8 REITs which have achieved Canadian Dividend Aristocrat status. At 11 years and counting, it owns the second-longest dividend-growth streak among all TSX-listed REITs.

To top things off, the company is arguably one of the best-capitalized REITs in the industry. It has one of the lowest D/EDBITA, D/E, and D/A ratios among all Office REITs. The company’s interest coverage ratio is 7.7.

While Allied carries additional risk as an Office REIT, analysts are still expecting 13% average annualized revenue growth over the next couple of years. This is among the highest of all TSX-listed REITs. It has a strong portfolio of assets, an impressive commitment to the distribution, and a strong financial profile.

Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAR.UN)

Analysts are expecting 7% average annual revenue growth over the next couple of years, which is among the best in the industry. Worth noting, that CAP REIT has grown revenue YoY for 23 consecutive years, the longest such streak in the sector.

This Canadian Dividend Aristocrat has also established itself as one of the most reliable income stocks in the sector. At 11 years long, it is tied with Allied Properties for the second longest dividend growth streak in the country.

Finally, Canadian Apartment also has one of the strongest financial profiles among its peers. Of all residential REITs, it is among the leaders across all debt-related categories. It also has one of the best interest coverage ratios out of all residential REITs at 2.13, trailing only Killam Apartment REIT (TSE:KMP.UN).

Combine the company’s strong balance sheet with an above-average growth rate and a reliable (and growing) distribution, you have a company that is poised to deliver for investors.

Before we leave you, it is also important to mention the impact of rising interest rates. While it could be a headwind for many, especially those with higher debt loads, REITs – Residential REITs in particular – tend to perform quite well during periods of rising rates.

The reason for this is that as rates rise, property values do as well. They can also pass along inflation costs on to the renters through annual rate increases.

So while borrowing costs increase which certainly impacts high-CAPEX industries such as REITs, the benefits outweigh the cons and investors should be comfortable holding through inflationary periods.