Apartment Look

Mainstreet Equity (OTC:OTC:MEQYF) is an under-the-radar residential apartment owner/operator in Western Canada . Despite a market cap of $325m (all figures Canadian ), it often sees volume of less than 1000 shares a day on the TSX where it trades under the MEQ ticker. The recent investor presentation (July 2017) gives a brief snapshot of the properties Mainstreet controls . It's important to note that Mainstreet is well away from the frothier markets in Canadian real estate , both geographically and in terms of price point. The average apartment it owns is valued at just marginally more than $100k with an average monthly rent of just $864. These are solidly middle class , leaning lower middle class , properties. The company is focused on rolling up what they view as smaller, underperforming buildings, often ones that have fallen into significant disrepair, are being managed by inexperienced and/or unprofessional owners, and giving them a makeover, with some recent examples fr...

When it comes to condominium development , Cascadia’s two largest cities couldn ’t be more different. Last year nearly 60 percent of new housing starts in the city of Vancouver, BC , were condominiums; meanwhile, Seattle saw no new condominium buildings open . And that’s not changing anytime soon: less than 10 percent of all building slated for downtown Seattle in the next three years will be condos. What’s the difference—why the blossoming of condominium construction in one city and the almost complete dearth in the other? The short answer is economics. In Vancouver, apartments are saddled with an unfavorable tax code , making condos the more lucrative multi- family housing investment even despite high rental demand . In Seattle’s skyrocketing rental market , one that’s climbed even faster than the condo market in recent years, apartment buildings are much more financially attractive, while condos come with bigger risks and, typically, lower returns. Compounding this profit differe...