REITs invest in the real estate markets. REITs gain exposure to the real estate market by investing directly in properties or mortgages. The Canadian real estate market performed well in 2015 despite bearish calls at the start of the year. While analysts are slightly bearish about the Canadian real estate market in 2016, low interest rates should help. The Bank of Canada has kept its benchmark interest rates at 0.5%.
While fundamentals for the Canadian real estate market are mixed, investors should still consider gaining exposure to REITs as they provide regular income. Here are two REITs investors can consider gaining exposure to.
True North Commercial REIT (TSX: TNT.UN)
True North Commercial owns and acquires Canadian commercial real estate properties. The REIT’s primary objective is to reward its unitholders by generating sustainable cash distributions on a tax-efficient basis. Earlier this week, True North announced a cash distribution of $0.0495 per trust unit ("Unit") for the period from March 1, 2016 and ending March 31, 2016.
Summit Industrial Income REIT (TSX: SMU.UN)
Summit Industrial Income is an open-ended real estate investment trust, focusing primarily on the light industrial segment of the Canadian real estate industry. Earlier this week, Summit announced a $0.042 per Unit cash distribution to be paid on April 15, 2016 to Unitholders of record on March 31, 2016.
