A value investor in Canada's oil heartland targets U.S. housing
BNN Bloomberg
Avenue Living Asset Management is trying to find fortune in places left behind by the North American real estate boom.
Avenue Living Asset Management Ltd. is trying to find fortune in places left behind by the North American real estate boom.
The firm, based in Canada’s oil capital, Calgary, started out by accumulating apartment buildings and housing complexes in the country’s western provinces. Now it’s gaining a U.S. beachhead by targeting small cities such as Cincinnati, Ohio, and Kansas City, Kansas, where prices are well below in major urban centers.
“We’re seeing a lot of opportunity in the U.S. non-gateway markets right now, so our plan is to continue to invest there,” Chief Investment Officer Jason Jogia said in an interview. The firm plans to focus on the U.S. market in the second half of the year and aims to deploy about $500 million (US$396 million) in multifamily properties in North America, he said.
Avenue’s largest fund, the $2.6 billion Avenue Living Core Trust, returned 13.2 per cent last year and has earned 9.7 per cent annualized returns since inception, according to fund documents as of March 31.
Properties in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the two provinces that produce the vast majority of Canada’s oil, remain far less expensive than markets like Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver.
But the recovery in energy prices has started to feed through to the rest of the economy. Employment is rising sharply in both provinces and the housing market, once moribund, has sprung to life.
