Canada Perspective: Mid-Year 2021

Bentall Green Oak (‘BGO’) is increasingly integrating environmental sustainability factors into the loan origination process. The company indicates that incorporating environmental performance into both equity investment underwriting and loan origination is critical to mitigating risk due to potential obsolescence of conventional properties which can become stranded assets.

BGO notes that Canadian urban multi-family rental market conditions are beginning to improve following sharp declines in occupancy and rents while suburban and secondary markets faced little disruption to demand for apartments as the pandemic accelerated outward migration. While the yield curve has flattened, supply chain disruptions and capacity constraints may enable strong price pressure to persist in the real estate and construction sector.