While there is growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike benchmark interest rates at its next meeting in June, interest rates in Canada are expected to remain at record low levels. As the Canadian economy continues to recover from the shock of low oil prices, the Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates low for a considerable period of time.
For income investors, REITs offering high yields are an attractive proposition in the current environment. Dream Office Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: D.UN) currently offers one of the highest yields in the REIT sector.
The Toronto, Canada-based REIT is engaged in building and maintaining a diversified portfolio of office properties in Canada, based on an established platform, and providing cash distributions to unitholders and managing distributions over time. Its portfolio consists of central business district and suburban office properties, located in urban centers across Canada, including Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver. The trust has ownership in more than 170 office properties (approximately 200 buildings) and approximately one re-development property.
Dream Office currently offers a dividend yield of 8.01%. Year-to-date, the REIT has gained more than 5%.
