A Toronto‑based investor says Montreal remains one of the best apartment markets in North America following its $55 million purchase of a rental complex in the Villeray–Saint‑Michel–Parc‑Extension borough.
KIN Asset Management, through its KIN Income Fund, recently acquired Le Mistral, a pair of mid‑rise apartment buildings with 224 units at 1111–1121 Mistral. The transaction marks the firm’s fourth property acquisition in Montreal.
“Montreal is a very attractive market,” said David Hanick, a partner and chief operating officer at KIN Asset Management, in an interview. “It’s one of the largest cities in North America, rents are, in relative terms, affordable, and there’s a significant number of units."
Hanick said the firm has been increasingly focused on Montreal over the past two‑and‑a‑half years, driven by what it sees as a disconnect between pricing and long‑term value.
“When you put it all together, affordability, scale and limited new supply, we think it’s an opportune time in the market,” he said. “Montreal is our primary focus right now.”
The acquisition brings KIN’s Montreal portfolio to more than 700 units. Hanick said the firm plans to expand aggressively in the near term. “Our goal is to grow to between 3,000 and 5,000 units in the next year and a half,” he said.
The Mistral property, built in 1977, is located outside the downtown core, near the intersection of Highway 40 and Christophe-Colomb. The complex's location and age ticked the boxes for the Toronto‑based investor.
“We don’t focus on new construction,” Hanick said. “Construction from the 1950s to the 1980s generally has larger units and isn’t concentrated downtown. Those types of buildings tend to hold their own much better than higher‑priced new construction."
Targeting older assets
Hanick said that his company likes older buildings because newer rental apartments in Montreal face increasing competition, including elevated supply and widespread rent concessions. “There’s significant competition in new construction, a lot of concessions on rent, and high supply with less demand,” he said. “That’s not where we want to be.”
Instead, KIN is targeting older, undermanaged assets that cater to working‑class tenants. “The buildings we target are really for hardworking people of Montreal,” Hanick said. “They’re generally undermanaged, and we believe there’s a place in the market for this type of housing. We’re here to purchase it and make it better for the people who live there."
CoStar analyst Mitch Strohminger concurred that older apartment buildings in Montreal contain elements that would prove alluring to real estate investors.
"Mid-tier and workforce housing are indeed in higher demand compared to high-end apartments when looking at recent sales activity," Strohminger said in a note. "The luxury market segment has seen a wave of new units in recent years, obliging owners to offer concessions and weakening fundamentals. This is not the case for mid-tier or workforce housing, which received virtually no new supply in recent years and which remains at a price point that most Montrealers can still afford."
The province of Quebec has had a reputation for being challenging for landlords to work with. However, Hanick said it is not as difficult as some might imagine. “We believe the regulatory system in Quebec is misunderstood compared to other regimes in Canada,” he said.
Another potential risk factor is posed by the city's declining population. Montreal is projected to lose 50,000 residents by 2033, according to CoStar News. However, KIN says the projections do not undermine the equation.
“We always look at population trends, immigration, emigration and job opportunities. That’s always on our mind,” Hanick said. “The Montreal market has held up relatively well compared to other markets in Canada.”
Hanick described the Montreal apartment market as active and competitive, with a wide range of buyers and sellers participating. “We believe it’s a healthy, active, robust market,” he said. “You’ve got private sellers, institutional sellers and public sellers," he said. "It’s a good environment to be buying.”
KIN financed the purchase with two mortgages from Peakhill Capital, including a senior loan of about $51.6 million and a second mortgage of roughly $12.2 million, according to documents obtained by CoStar.
KIN Asset Management is a Toronto‑based real estate firm that invests in rental properties, mainly apartments in major Canadian cities, according to its website. The firm traces its origin to KIN Capital Partners, a boutique real estate investment bank that launched in January 2020. In 2025, KIN completed its evolution into a pure active asset manager with the launch of its flagship open-ended investment vehicle, the KIN Income Fund. The firm is led by founder and CEO Jacob Iftah, along with Hanick.