Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Morguard North American Residential REIT Q1 conference call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. If at any time during the call you require any assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, April 28, 2022. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Paul Miatello. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much. I'd like to say thank you to everybody for joining us today on Q1 results call from Morguard North American Residential REIT. Joining me today, we have Rai Sahi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. We have Angela Sahi, Senior Vice President in charge of Canadian Operations. John Talano, Senior Vice President in charge of U.S. Operations. Beverley Flynn, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, and Chris Newman, Chief Financial Officer. I'll now turn the call over to Chris for some comments before we open it up for questions.
Okay. Thank you, Paul. As is customary, I'll provide comments on the REIT's financial position and performance. In terms of our financial position, the REIT completed the Q1 of 2022 with total assets amounting to CAD 3.7 billion, higher compared to CAD 3.5 billion as at December 31, 2021, resulting from a fair value increase on the REIT's income-producing properties of approximately CAD 247 million. The value increase is a result of capital compression realized on most of our U.S. portfolio, as well as increases in underwritten NOI in both the U.S. and Canadian properties.
The REIT finished the Q1 with CAD 31.2 million of cash on hand and CAD 60 million advanced to Morguard Corporation under its CAD 100 million revolving credit facility, providing the REIT with CAD 160 million available under the credit facility. The REIT completed the Q1 with CAD 1.1 billion of long-term debt obligations. As at March 31, 2022, the REIT's overall weighted average term to maturity was 4.7 years, a decrease from 5 years at December 31, 2021, and the weighted average interest rate remains unchanged at 3.31%. The REIT's debt-to-book value ratio improved to 37.3% at March 31, 2022, down compared to 40.2% at December 31, 2021.
The REIT's IFRS net asset value at CAD 34.89 per unit as at March 31, 2022, compared to the current market price of approximately CAD 19, reflects the compelling entry point for our investors. Turning to the statement of income. Net income was CAD 171.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to CAD 27.4 million in 2021.
The 133.7 million increase in net income was primarily due to a higher fair value gain on real estate properties of 219.3 million relative to the gain recorded during 2021, and was partially offset by an increase in the fair value loss on Class B LP Units of 39.3 million, reflecting an increase in the REIT's unit price during the Q1 and an increase in deferred income tax expense of 37 million, correlating with the increase in fair value on the REIT's U.S. properties. IFRS net operating income was 17.4 million for the Q1 of 2022, an increase of 2.2 million or 14.8% compared to 2021.
Changes in foreign exchange rate amount to CAD 0.6 million of the overall CAD 2.2 million variance last year. On a same-property proportionate basis, NOI in the U.S. increased by $2.4 million, or 16%, as an increase in revenue from AMR growth and lower vacancy was partially offset by higher operating expenses. NOI in Canada decreased by CAD 0.4 million or 3.2%, mainly due to higher operating expenses, partly offset by growth in AMR and lower vacancies. Changes in foreign exchange increased NOI by CAD 0.8 million.
Interest expense increased by CAD 2.8 million for the Q1 of 2022 compared to 2021, primarily due to the increase in the non-cash fair value loss on the convertible debentures conversion option of CAD 2.6 million and an increase in interest on mortgages of CAD 0.3 million. The REIT's Q1 performance translated into basic FFO of CAD 18.3 million, an increase of CAD 2.7 million or 17.2% when compared to 2021. On a per unit basis, FFO was CAD 0.33 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of CAD 0.05 compared to CAD 0.28 per unit in 2021. The increase in FFO per unit was due to the following.
On the same property proportionate basis in local currency, an increase in NOI from higher AMR and lower vacancy partly offset an increase in interest expense and trust expenses, overall had a CAD 0.03 per unit positive impact. The change in the foreign exchange rate had a CAD 0.01 per unit positive impact, primarily resulting from an increase in FFO generated from the U.S. properties. An increase from the contribution of the REIT's development property, which reached stabilized occupancy in October 2021, had a CAD 0.01 per unit positive impact. The REIT's FFO payout ratio was 53.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2022, a very conservative level which allows for significant cash retention.
Operationally, the REIT's average monthly rent in Canada increased to CAD 1,556 or 3.1% compared to 2021, reflecting the quality of our Canadian portfolio. During the Q1 , the Canadian portfolio had over 3.7% of total suites and achieved 15.5% AMR growth on suite turnover. In addition, approximately half of the REIT's Ontario properties received a 1.2% guideline increase during the Q1 as a result of last year's rent freeze. While in the US, same property AMR increased by 9.6% compared to 2021, having an average monthly rent of $1,566 at the end of March 31, 2022, as the REIT continued its strong performance benefiting from strong market fundamentals across many regions.
REIT's occupancy in Canada finished the Q1 of 2022 at 93.8% compared to 93.6% at March 31, 2021. During the first and into the Q2 , we began to see increased leasing activity and the number of suites leased. Occupancy has improved during April and currently sits at 94.4%. Same property occupancy in the U.S. of 96.2% at March 31, 2022 was higher than 95.1% at March 31, 2021, continuing the positive momentum experienced last year. During the three months ended March 31, 2022, the REIT's total CapEx amounted to CAD 3.9 million. That included revenue enhancing in-suite improvements, common area and exterior building, as we also continue to ensure we maintain the structural and overall safety of our properties.
The REIT's collection of rental income during the three months ended March 31st, 2022 continues to be materially in line with our historical collection rates. At this time, I'll turn the call back over to the moderator for any questions.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press the star followed by the one on your touchtone phone. You will hear a three-tone prompt acknowledging your request, and your questions will be called in the order they are received. If you wish to decline the calling process, please press the star followed by the number two. One moment for your first question. Your first question comes from Lorne Kalmar, TD Securities. Please go ahead.
Thank you and good afternoon. Maybe starting out in the US, obviously a really, really good result out of the US portfolio. You know, almost 10% rent growth. You know, what are you guys seeing so far? How much longer do you think you can kind of push rents at this level? Has there really been any pushback from tenants in markets where there's been some of the larger increases?
Okay. John, do you mind handling that question?
Not at all. I would say that our biggest gains have been in Florida and, those we're not getting a whole lot of pushback. We are very strong with our occupancies. A lot of it has to do with the residential housing market. Folks are selling their homes and, quite frankly, don't have a place to go, so they're moving in with us. You know, those are by far the strongest. It is still going strong, but I think as interest rates rise that will soften a bit. We're also getting very strong results, in most areas across the country, to a lesser extent. Right now we're not getting pushback.
We put out our renewals about 120 days out, so that can give you a perspective. You know, those are coming in. Our occupancies are good. We don't have a significant amount of turnover headed over the next several months.
Okay. I think you guys announced that you've agreed to dispose of 2 assets. I just wondered if you could give some color around the genesis of those dispositions and if there's any other dispositions coming down the pipe?
Yeah.
Hi, Lorne.
Paul, I'll start, John, and maybe I'll turn it over to you. I mean, you know, I don't think it's any secret, Lauren, you know, what we're seeing is really unprecedented demand for multi-family properties, particularly in Sunbelt states. So we're, you know, sort of taking the opportunity while that demand is there to prune up a little bit of the portfolio. And you know, generally these are properties where we see challenges down the road, whether it's because of age or competitive factors in the market. So that's really kind of the rationale behind it. John, is there anything else you wanted to add specifically on that?
Just that they are older properties, as Paul mentioned. Some capital coming down the pipe sooner than later, and an opportunity to reduce the overall age of the portfolio and make sure that we have some nice relevant products going into the future.
Okay. Maybe just following on that is, are there any markets or any sort of acquisition opportunities you're seeing you could recycle the capital into?
Yes. We're actively looking in all of our existing markets. We're touching a few new ones, but I can't comment exactly on everything we're looking at, but we're very active.
Looking to sort of a new deal.
Okay, great. Thanks so much for the call, everyone. I'll turn it back.
Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, should you have a question, please press star followed by the one on your touch tone phone. Your next question comes from Jimmy Shan, RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Just on those two assets, what were the cap rates on those assets?
From a cap rate perspective, I mean, the only thing I'm gonna comment on is measuring it on trailing income. Based on trailing income, Jimmy, these would be three caps. Like low, like very low threes.
Low 3s. Okay. When I look at the remaining assets, if I understand correctly, so those are older assets, potentially more competition coming down later on. The remaining assets, so you only got one in Atlanta now and then a couple in New Orleans. You guys are marking them up at, I believe, the Atlanta one at 4.8 cap. Is there any. Is it just conservatism that you've built into your values, or is it that it's based on a more stabilized, higher rent? How do we think about that?
Yeah, I mean, A, there's definitely a bit of conservatism built into it. I mean, B, you know, Typically, we would look for several quarters of evidence in the transaction market before we, you know, before we make a move on cap rates. You know, what we're starting to see is that evidence, you know, We wouldn't necessarily take it all the way down to a 3, say for the other Atlanta properties. You know, you'd wanna see, you know, like you said, a bigger body of evidence before you sort of take it to the next step. That's generally our rationale and our thinking on those cap rates.
Yeah. No, that makes sense. Although, like, how are the transactions assuming the market is reasonably deep, like would they not be in that same type of range?
Yeah. Yeah, they're in that range, but again, we're just looking for a bigger body of evidence over a longer period of time. You know, not to say that that transaction evidence is not there. You know, the other thing too is we don't think it'll last forever, right? You know, everyone, including our auditors, are in agreement. We don't wanna see, you know, cap rates get compressed to 3, and especially in an interest rate environment. You know, 2 quarters from now, you know, they could be back to 4.5, and you get that whipsaw. You know, everybody's, you know, pretty much on the same page that, you know, you take them down gradually as opposed to, you know, taking them down on a steep curve.
Jimmy, further to that, combined with Q4, we've moved them both 50-75 basis points between the two quarters. We, you know, have moved them, you know, relatively quick, recently. Yes, as Paul says, we're gonna keep wait and see in the next quarter or two what the market settles on.
Yeah, that makes sense. Just on that, sort of you guys have been doing this for a long time. Like based on experience, how do you see the asset pricing trending from here on given the rise in rates on both sides of the border? I'm curious to know how you're thinking about that over the next little while.
Yeah. I mean, the boil has to come off.
Mm-hmm.
You know, today you're financing those assets at negative leverage, right? You know.
Mm-hmm.
With fixed interest rates being pretty meaningfully higher than the cap rates that I mentioned a couple of minutes ago. I mean the boil has to come off. You know, we've talked to a lot of prospective purchasers of these assets. You know, there are some cash buyers out there, but everybody, you know, to some extent needs leverage. We see this slowing down. I don't know if it's one quarter, two quarters, three quarters from now, but we definitely see it slowing down at some point.
Okay.
There is a lot of capital chasing the assets, you know, as evidenced by the pricing.
Right. Okay. In terms of the use of proceeds, I know there's cross-border issues that could happen and tax issues. Would share buyback and doing a buyback be one of the options that you'd contemplate in terms of use of proceeds?
Yeah. We haven't been very active on it, but it's something that we're looking at and thinking about. The REIT is still very liquid in Canada, so you know, there's no constraints from that perspective. We'll likely look to redeploy the capital from the sales within the U.S. rather than repatriate.
Okay. Okay, thank you.
Your next question comes from Dean Wilkinson from CIBC. Please go ahead.
Thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. Just a quick question on that debt refinancing on the Palm Beach County asset. Looks like you materially increased that refinance. Was that rate at 4.19 a reflection of a higher LTV, or is that just kind of where the market has moved to?
More the latter. Just kind of where the market has moved to. You know, everybody knows U.S., you know, USTs have traded up just like the GOCs have. You know, these are kind of getting priced out at a pretty typical spread, you know, 150-160 over. Plus, you know, there's a bit of cost in there. You know, you're trying to lock these rates, you know, kind of 90 days forward. There's some friction costs with the lender, which is more or less like an embedded kinda hedge.
Right.
Yeah. I mean, I think that's typically the rate these days.
Okay. I guess that just kinda ties back into Jimmy's question about where cap rates have gone, where you guys see them going to, and what Paul said about the negative carry. I guess that's the environment we're in. In terms of those asset sales, if you do not avail yourself of a 1031 exchange roll, would you have triggered a taxable gain on those?
Yeah. I mean, there'll be taxable income for sure, just based on the sale price.
Were they above your carrying value?
Yeah. Yes.
They were. Okay. That's it for me. Thanks, guys.
Thank you.
There are no further questions at this time. I'll now turn it back to Mr. Paul Miatello. Please go ahead.
Okay. Thank you again. We'd like to thank everybody for attending the results call today, and we will speak to you next quarter. Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.