Vancouver, BC, Jan. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With interest rates rising over the course of 2022, NWRE’s pace of acquisitions slowed in the second half of the year, but still amounted to 50 acquisitions totaling $1.0 billion (CAD) of gross asset value. Nicola Wealth Real Estate’s (NWRE) portfolio has grown to over $8.5 billion (CAD) of real estate spanning major markets across North America and a range of asset classes including industrial, multi-family, office, self-storage, retail, and seniors’ housing.
“The 2022 acquisition volume did not match the $2.0 billion of acquisitions completed in 2021, but still represents strong activity for our portfolio and we will continue to be cautious in 2023,” highlights Alex Messina, Vice President of Acquisitions at Nicola Wealth Real Estate.
While the volume of acquisitions slowed during the second half of 2022, the NWRE team concentrated on leasing, asset management and development, all of which helped contribute to positive investor returns. Leasing was a particular area of focus, with the team completing over 230 lease transactions which accounted for over 1.8 million sq ft of space. “We successfully maintained high occupancy across our portfolio and were able to drive rental rates on lease renewals,” commented Roz McQueen, Director of Leasing. “Our increased allocation to industrial, self-storage, and multi-family rental assets paid off as these asset classes continue to have strong tenant demand and experienced impressive rental rate growth.”
Over the past several years, NWRE’s strategy expanded to include development on a build-to-hold basis in addition to acquiring existing income-producing properties. NWRE now has an in-house development team based in Vancouver which directly undertakes development in Western Canada and works with strategic development partners in other Canadian and US markets. “Our team is currently managing 20 projects at various stages, which accounts for over 2,100 residential rental units as well as 2.5 million sq ft of industrial, creative office, and self-storage space,” adds Josh Anderson, Vice President of Development.
In 2023, NWRE will be completing the second phase of Squamish Self Storage as well as its creative office project at 5th & Columbia in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood. A number of other projects will kick-off construction in 2023, including two multi-family rental projects in Victoria, BC, and a 260,000 ft industrial project at 601 Milner Avenue in Toronto, ON.
“We believe our team’s hard work and dedication has delivered great outcomes for our investors,” comments Mark Hannah, NWRE’s Managing Director. “Although there will be challenges coming into 2023, we are confident in the strategies, asset classes, and markets we have selected. We also believe there will be good opportunities for those who are patient.”
To learn more about the Nicola Wealth Real Estate funds, visit realestate.nicolawealth.com
About Nicola Wealth Real Estate
Nicola Wealth Real Estate (NWRE) is the in-house real estate team of Nicola Wealth, a Canadian financial planning and investment firm with over $13.1 billion (CAD) of assets under management (AUM). NWRE has an experienced and innovative team that sources and asset-manages a growing portfolio of properties in major markets across North America spanning a diversified range of asset classes which include industrial, multi-family rental apartment, office, self-storage, retail and seniors housing. With the acquisition of Blackwood Partners, the current NWRE portfolio now exceeds $8.5 billion gross asset value.
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