3 REITs to Buy to Avoid a Canada Housing Market Crash

Investors continue to worry about a Canada housing market crash, but that doesn’t mean you have to avoid all real estate investment trusts!

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published April 30, 2021 1:58 pm EDT

There is still worry about a Canada housing market crash. Many investors fear that even investing in real estate investment trusts (REIT) can get them into trouble. However, there is a way to invest in REITs without the worry of a crash. So let’s take a look at three solid options to consider for any portfolio.

WPT Industrial

The e-commerce industry is booming, and WPT Industrial REIT (TSX:WIR.UN) has been a prime benefactor. Revenue is up 45% year over year as of the latest earnings report, with the company sitting at around 97% occupancy rate. Meanwhile, the light industrial properties company continues to expand, with now 109 properties in its portfolio.

If there is a Canada housing market crash, you won’t have to worry about WPT Industrial for a few reasons. First, its properties are mainly in the United States. Second, it’s not in housing! Light industrial properties are low maintenance, only relying on what’s shipped and stored from these locations. With e-commerce only set to grow higher, it’s more likely you’ll see growth over dips. So you can rest easy knowing your dividend yield of 4.53% is safe and secure.

NorthWest Healthcare

Another REIT unrelated to housing is NorthWest Healthcare Properties REIT (TSX:NWH.UN). This company owns a diverse range of healthcare properties around the world. So not only do you get international diversity and won’t have to worry about a Canada housing market crash, you’ll also rest easy knowing it’s in the healthcare and not housing sector.

Healthcare continues to see major investment, so NorthWest is a reliable and safe company to hold onto for decades. I say that with confidence as the company’s recent lease agreements averaged 14.5 years! Revenue continues to come in strong from these rent agreements. So investors can look forward to many years ahead enjoying the company’s 6.09% dividend yield.

Brookfield Renewable

Finally, Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP (TSX: BEP.UN)(NYSE: BEP) offers investors a way to get in on growth and dividends. The renewable energy company owns clean energy assets around the world. So again, you have a diverse range of products in countries besides Canada, avoiding a Canada housing market crash completely.

But there is a lot of growth ahead for Brookfield Energy. The company owns 19,000 megawatts of assets, and this is all without the heavy investment coming its way. Analysts expect about $10 trillion to be poured into clean energy projects around the world in the next decade. In that time, Brookfield will be able to expand its footprint even further.

So not only do you get a dividend yield of 2.95% as of writing, you can also look forward to share growth. Brookfield has already seen share growth of 51% in the last year, and 598% in the last decade for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.42%!

Bottom line

Just because you want to get in on REITs doesn’t mean you have to worry about a Canada housing market crash. Instead, invest in areas that won’t be affected. This includes diverse properties that span the globe. In the case of each of these REITs, you get exactly that.