Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust ($BEIUN)

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] This call is being recorded on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. I would now like to turn the conference call over to Mr. Eric Bowers, VP Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Kelsey, and welcome to the Boardwalk REIT 2026 First Quarter Results Conference Call. With me here today are Sam Kolias, Chief Executive Officer; James Ha, President; Gregg Tinling Chief Financial Officer; Samantha Kolias-Gunn, Senior VP of Corporate Development and Governance; and Samantha Adams, Senior VP of Investments. We would like to acknowledge on behalf of Boardwalk, the treaties and traditional territories across our operations and express gratitude and respect for the land we are gathered on today, and we now know is Canada. We respect indigenous peoples and communities as the original stewards of this land. We come with respect to this land that we are on today for all the people who have and continue to reside here and the rich diversity of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people. Before we get to our results, please note that this call is being broadly distributed by way of webcast. If you have not already done so, please visit bwalk.com/investors, where you will find a link to today's presentation as well as PDF files of the Trust's financial statements, MD&A and quarterly report. Starting on Slide 2, we would like to remind our listeners that certain statements in this call and presentation may be considered forward-looking statements. Although the expectations set forth in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, Boardwalk's future operation and its actual performance may differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements. Additional information that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements are detailed in Boardwalk's publicly filed documents. I would like to now turn the call over to Sam Kolias.

Thank you, Eric. Starting on Slide 4. Welcome, everyone, to our Boardwalk Family Forever and to our Q1 2026 results. Redefining BFF, Boardwalk Family Forever is at the top of our organizational chart. Family is everything. Affordable multifamily communities have always been an essential product and service. Together with our residents, our associates, investors, partners, capital environment, community, we are all essential and interconnected family members with our true north, where love always lives. Together, we go far. Our leaders put our team first and our team puts our resident members first guided by the golden rule. We have a peak performing customer service culture that creates exceptional results as we can see on our next Slide 5. Our continued solid performance with GAAP and non-GAAP measures increasing from the same quarter last year, same-property rental revenue increased 2.8% and same-property net operating income increased 6.8%. Our operating margin increased by 230 basis points to 65.8% as well as our funds from operation per unit increasing by 8.5%. Profit is down as a result of a noncash reduction in our IFRS net asset value. Our net asset value per unit at $95.93, representing an exceptional value in our current unit price that has trained well below this. I would like to now pass it over to Samantha Kolias-Gunn.

Thank you so much, Sam. We are extremely grateful for our team, our Boardwalk Family perseverance, performance and continued commitment to our purpose, bringing our resident family members home to love always. Continuing on to Slide 6, our operational stability and commitment to affordable housing. Rental market fundamentals in our core markets are more competitive. Demand continues for more affordable housing despite supply deliveries focused on higher-end luxury products to justify high construction costs. We are grateful for our partnership with CMHC and our federal government that have implemented effective public policy to build more supply that has resulted in a balancing of the rental market across Canada providing more affordabilities to all Canadians. We are well positioned to deliver on our commitment to provide much-needed affordable housing in a more competitive environment. With our experienced peak performing team, exceptional product quality, with over $1 billion invested since 2017 in rebrand and repositioning efforts and dedication to our Boardwalk Family as responsible community providers. Our self-regulation provides us with continued steady results as we remain flexible with our rental rates producing greater stability in occupancy, margins, NOI and reputation. Paired with our strong financial foundation, minimum distribution policy, resulting in maximum reinvestment and free cash flow growth, strategic repositioning unparalleled customer service and on our foundation of strong family values, we remain in a position to deliver solid performance. This is what sets us apart. Bringing you home to where love always lives. Boardwalk strives to be the first choice in multifamily apartment communities to work, invest and call home with our Boardwalk family forever. Moving on to Slide 7. Our strategic rebranding enhances our resident member experience and exceptional quality at an affordable price. Keeping our occupancy high at 97.1%. Per rentals dossier data, our average occupied rent of $1,601 for 2-bedroom apartments are attractive, especially relative to the Canadian average of $2,197. Moving on to Slide 8. Alberta continues to see positive population growth with small relative amounts of nonpermanent residents. Affordability continues to drive positive population and leading economic growth in our core markets, Alberta and Saskatchewan reflected in our appendix. Quebec has delivered exceptional results despite negative population growth, further evidencing the strong demand for affordable housing. Ontario remains stable. We are strategically in all the right places at the right time. Please refer to our appendix for more data on the resilience of the Alberta economy and the renewed Alberta advantage. We would like to now pass the call on to Gregg Tinling, who will provide us with an overview of our quarter results, strong balance sheet, fair value and ESG.

Thank you, Samantha. Beginning on Slide 9. Occupancy remains strong as we enter the spring and early summer season, supported by continued growth in occupied rent. While vacancy loss increased, the trust effectively reduced leasing incentives, which contributed to the higher rental revenue reported in Q1 2026 compared to the same period last year. These results reflect the success of our strategic initiatives aimed at maximizing free cash flow and diversifying our product offering, delivering meaningful financial performance. Slide 10 provides an overview of leasing spreads for new and renewed leases under our self-regulated resident-friendly centric model. This approach continues to drive strong retention and referrals while keeping turnover and operating expenses low. On a year-over-year basis, leasing spreads have moderated, reflecting a more balanced supply-demand environment. Increased supply in select portfolio markets, particularly at the higher price points, has led to greater competition and vacancy. On a blended basis, leasing spreads have gradually improved since the start of the year, reflecting effective resident engagement and retention strategies in a more competitive market. Our strategic flexibility with new rental rates enabled us to preserve high occupancy while maintaining solid operating margins and net operating income. We remain focused on maintaining high occupancy and maximizing resident retention. This strategy reinforces our commitment to provide affordable resident-friendly housing in our core markets while also reduced costs and steady operational performance, delivering long-term value for all stakeholders. Slide 11 shows sequential quarterly rental revenue growth, including a 0.4% decline in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025. With increased competition and a return to seasonality in the winter months, Boardwalk focused on managing occupancy and positioning ourselves favorably for the spring, early summer season. Turning to Slide 12. Same-property net operating income increased by 6.8% in Q1 2026 compared to the same quarter last year with revenue growth of 2.8%. Alberta, the Trust's largest region, contributes meaningfully to this performance with a 7.3% increase in net operating income with revenue growth of 2.3%. Total rental expenses declined by 4.1% year-over-year, primarily due to lower utility costs with the removal of the federal carbon tax alongside lower insurance premiums. Slide 13 outlines Boardwalk's mortgage maturity schedule. The Trust debt portfolio is well staggered, with approximately 96% of the mortgage balance carrying NHA insurance through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. This insurance remains in place for the full amortization period and backed by the government of Canada enables access to financing at rates below conventional mortgage levels with the current estimated 5-year and 10-year CMHC rate of 3.9% and 4.3%, respectively. Although current interest rates are above the Trust's maturing rates over the next few years, the Trust maturity curve remains staggered, reducing the renewal amount in any particular year. Lastly, the Trust has an interest coverage of 3.04% in the current quarter. To date, in 2026, of the $823 million of 2026 mortgages maturing, we have renewed or forward locked $346 million at an average of 3.75% and an average term of approximately 7 years. Combined with our cash on hand as well as our unused credit facilities, we are well positioned with strong liquidity available. Current underwriting criteria in our most recent submissions to CMHC and our lenders has remained in line with our historically conservative estimates. Please refer to Slide 48, which summarizes our 2026 mortgage program completed. Slide 14 illustrates the Trust's estimated fair value of its investment properties excluding adjustments for IFRS 16. As of March 31, 2026, the fair value of investment properties totaled $8.6 billion compared to $8.7 billion as of December 31, 2025. The decrease in overall fair value is a result of an increase in cap rates and a decrease in market rents in Calgary, reflecting elevated risk from incoming supply and competitive pressure on market rents at the higher market level. As well as adjusting quality classifications in Ontario for certain assets based on comparable transactions, along with an update -- upward adjustment for vacancy assumption in select markets. These adjustments were partially offset by higher market rents, most notably in Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Regina and Saskatoon. Current estimated fair value of approximately $245,000 per apartment door remains below replacement costs. As it does every quarter, the Trust will continue to review completed asset sales transactions and market reports to determine if adjustments to cap rates are necessary as well as consult with our external appraisers. Most recent published cap rate reports suggest that the cap rates being utilized by the Trust for calculating fair value are within their estimated ranges. Slide 15 highlights our ESG initiatives. We would like to highlight our 2025 GRESB score of 72%, which represents a 7.5% increase compared to the prior year. Using a disciplined capital allocation approach, we are focused on reducing emissions through reduced utilities consumption and therefore, reducing utilities costs while always promoting social and governance initiatives. As part of our 2025 annual reporting, the Trust will be publishing its ESG report in May 2026, which will be available on our website. I would like to now turn the call over to Samantha Adams to highlight our capital allocation initiatives.

Thank you, Gregg. Following the transformational 2025, during which Boardwalk completed $829 million of transactions. We have entered 2026 focused on disciplined capital allocation, maximizing free cash flow and directing capital to the best risk-adjusted opportunities. We are continuing our value-add and repositioning initiatives as well as asset sales of our noncore communities that will generate the liquidity for accretive capital recycling. Slide 16 highlights how reinvesting our free cash flow back into our communities, strengthens our value proposition for our resident family members. 16 Projects are planned for 2026, prioritizing cost-effective, high-impact common area and amenity upgrades that enhance our resident experience while maintaining affordability and operating flexibility. These investments are designed to support long-term asset quality, standardize the experience across the portfolio and improve cash flow over time through stronger retention, pricing power and resilience across cycles. On Slide 17, we are pleased to announce that Aspire, our beautiful development in Victoria BC is now over 44% leased, ahead of our projected time line and the third and final building received occupancy at the end of March. Slide 18 underscores the continued disconnect between our unit price and the underlying value of our portfolio. Our NCIB remains a key capital allocation tool, and we have remained active with our buyback strategy. Year-to-date, we have deployed $102 million under the NCIB at a weighted average price of $65.92. At implied cap rates of over 6% based on our recent trading price Investing in our units and our platform remains a highly accretive use of capital today. Slides 19 and 20 summarize our recently announced asset sales. We have sold or announced a sale of $306 million of our noncore properties in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Quebec City and Montreal at a weighted average cap rate of 5.3% with an average vintage of 1975. These sales were completed at pricing in line with our fair value and have provided us with the capital to redeploy into the strongest risk-adjusted opportunities. And as shown on Slide 20, our capital allocation during the quarter was focused on the NCIB. Looking ahead, we expect to execute our noncore disposition program at a pace above 2025 levels supported by sustained private buyer demand for our older noncore assets at favorable valuations. This will enable us to actively reinvest in our own undervalued portfolio through the NCIB while retaining optionality to capitalize on external growth opportunities that may present in the changing cap rate environment. I would now like to turn the call over to James Ha to discuss our track record of creating value and our updated 2026 guidance.

Thank you, Samantha, and thank you to our entire Boardwalk team for your service and commit to our resident members, which has resulted in our strong operating performance we are sharing here today. Our focus on delivering the best quality and affordable communities is why our residents make Boardwalk their first choice as the place to call home and reward our team with continued high occupancy, high retention rates. Slide 21 provides an update to our 2026 outlook as we build off our base of disciplined capital recycling and strong operating platform. With the housing market that is more balanced, we continue to see strong demand for affordably priced homes, while more expensive housing options remain competitive. We are pleased to see positive blended lease spreads so far this spring leasing season and anticipate our leasing trends to remain positive for the spring and summer leasing season. Since our last report, estimated tax rates have been provided by most of our municipalities. In Alberta, our provincial government has recently announced a significant provincial education tax increase to better support the near-term needs of our outsized population growth. In most of our Western Canadian provinces, we are now anticipating double-digit property tax increases. These increases are higher than we had originally anticipated and are now expecting a same property portfolio, property tax increase of between 8% and 9%. We remain active in appealing our 2026 assessments. Despite this significant property tax increase, we are only slightly revising our 2026 estimates and now anticipate same-property NOI growth of between 1% to 3.5%. And FFO per unit of between $4.60 and $4.80. Please note that this forward-looking guidance includes the redeployment of capital from our $306 million of announced sales, and we will be regularly updating and refining our outlook in the quarters to come. Slide 22, we are pleased to confirm our regular monthly distribution equating to $1.80 per Trust unit on an annualized basis. Since 2021, our distribution has increased at a compounded annual growth rate above 10%, while still retaining an industry high proportion of our cash flow to reinvest and compound growth. Our formula has extended our FFO per unit track record, and we have more than doubled our FFO per unit in just 8 years. On Slide 23, this FFO growth, along with our approach to maximum cash flow retention has improved our leverage metrics to provide Boardwalk with one of the strongest and most flexible balance sheets. By regaining and recycling our own cash flow, we are able to compound growth while also consistently improve our leverage metrics. This provides the trust with significant flexibility and liquidity to take advantage of opportunities that arise. One of these opportunities is shown on Slides 24 and 25, which highlight the exceptional value that our Trust units represent. Current trading price equates to less than $200,000 per apartment door and a mid-6% cap rate. Both metrics are exceptional when considering our product quality, locations, spread to financing costs and consistent cash flow growth as shared in our outlook. Recent private market transactions and our own sales continue to be supportive of our estimated net asset value of $247,000 per door or $96 per Trust unit. Our team continues to be active in capital recycling, sourcing increased cash flow and crystallizing value in noncore asset sales. As a result, we have strategically increased our available cash to opportunistically invest and enhance cash flow and value for our stakeholders. With the significant value our trust units represent, we anticipate continuing to prioritize investing in our own assets through our normal course issuer bid, with approximately $100 million already invested so far. Our recent asset sales has added capital to be recycled, and we are now anticipating to invest over $200 million in our NCIB and our own high-value platform in 2026. In closing, our team continues to be focused on delivering bring the best quality and value in housing to our residents. Our unique operating platform and experienced team continues to demonstrate our ability to create value for all our stakeholders, and we would like to thank again our resident members, our team, our partners and all our stakeholders for making us your first choice in housing. We would now like to open up the line for questions. Kelsey?

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Brad Sturges from Raymond James.

I guess on the guidance revision, it sounds like it is predominantly on the property tax side. Would there be much of a change on the same-store revenue growth assumptions?

Brad, it's Gregg. On the revenue side, we're projecting the range of 1.5% to about 2.5%. And that would be with Q1 being at the lower end of the range there.

Okay. And with the leasing spreads, the comment about staying positive through the spring and summer, I guess, how would we think about that from a new leasing spread perspective? You've seen, I guess, a recovery on some of those spreads, but they're still negative. So do you see that staying in negative territory? Or could we get back to more, call it, flat or positive at some point later in the year?

Brad, it's James. It really depends on which product type. What we're seeing is in our more affordable products, continued positive spreads. Where we are seeing competition, as we've discussed, is at the upper end of the rental market. And this is why retention is so important, retaining our residents, keeping occupancies high, giving us the best chance to continue to obtain those positive spreads. And so it's really going to depend on which type of units turn over. I think as we've seen some real positive momentum hitting into the spring. And as we're working through me, we're continuing to see really strong volumes and demand. Just looking at our dashboards here this morning. We're 6 days into the month, and we've covered about 25% of our turnover already. And so spring leasing season continues to be quite active, and our team is doing a great job of keeping our occupancies high.

And compared to last year, how does the demand picture look this year? Is it similar to what you would have saw last year? Or would there be much of a variation?

Yes. Similar in terms of traffic. Again, I have to give our team a ton of credit on the retention front and our strategy and approach through winter months where, again, we really prioritized occupancy, prioritize that retention, which put us into this position where we can be a little more aggressive with our rentals through the spring/summer leasing season.

Your next question comes from Jonathan Kelcher from TD Cowen.

Just sticking with the spring leasing, how is it shaping up versus your expectations?

As Gregg pointed out, in the first quarter, we were tracking towards the bottom end of our expectations. Now that we're into the spring/summer leasing season, we did anticipate a return to positive ended spreads, which you see here on Slide 10. So far, traffic is within our expectations. Again, we are prioritizing retention, where we are seeing the strongest spreads where we are able to reduce our operating costs as well. And so far, as Gregg had mentioned, it is tracking within our expectations.

And what about by market? Are there any markets that are particularly stronger or softer?

It's really price specific. Edmonton, our most affordable market continues to be quite strong. Saskatchewan as well. One of our more portal markets continues to be quite strong. Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie. Again, we have great teams out there. We continue to see strength in demand for our product. Ontario, we're continuing to see competition at our 45 railroad sites, again, or community pardon me, where we are priced at that upper end. Our team continues to be very flexible with our residents to maintain our high occupancy. In British Columbia, as Samantha talked about in our prepared remarks, Aspire, we're seeing really strong demand in terms of our lease-up there. We're 44% on the slide, but again, just checking our dashboard this morning, we're actually closer to 50%. And so we continue to see really good strong demand for our product where there's really high value. And so I hope that answers your question, Jonathan. It's really a matter of what's your price point and what value are you offering at the end of the day, that's where we are seeing really strong resilience in the housing market.

Okay. That is helpful. And then just on the property tax, that starts to hit you guys in Q3, correct?

That's right. That will be a second half event. And so we expect our property tax number in the second quarter to be very similar to what we had in the first quarter. And then come to second half, that's where we will see a tax increase. So the full extent of that 8% to 9% year-over-year property tax increase will be entirely in the second half of 2026.

Okay. So it should be a decent Q2 same-property NOI and then 4 quarters are more challenging, correct?

Yes, we're going to work really hard. Gregg talked about the revenue growth side being towards the lower end of our expectations. Well, our team is really focused in on making the same-store operating expense side, again, on the lower end of our expectations as well in terms of that growth rate. And so when you put that all together, that's why we were able to -- despite an 8% to 9% property tax increase really only modestly adjust our full year guidance range.

And your next question comes from Sairam from ATB Cormark Capital Markets.

Just probably looking at operating expenses. Obviously, it's been a key driver of your growth so far in terms of reduction on these expenses. But looking ahead, especially in the second half, how do you see like utilities and other costs kind of drop up versus property taxes?

So we're projecting for the year, like total rental expenses will be in the range of 2% to flat. On the utility front, we're trying to keep water conservation initiatives that we're looking at. Yes, property taxes are going to increase. Again, that 2% to flat. That does account for the property tax increase, and we also have appeals that are in progress. So we're hoping for some favorable outcomes there. And then yes, on the operating expense side, we're investing in our operating platform. We're increasing our in-house trades to have less reliance on third-party contractors. And of course, we're just doing what we do best, and that's control costs and focus on our resident family members and provide them with the best value to increase satisfaction and retention and then, of course, keep occupancy high and reduce turnover costs.

And your next question comes from Mario Saric from Scotiabank.

I I just wanted to come back to the same-store revenue discussion. It looks like based on what Gregg highlighted, the expectations for '26 are down about 125 basis points relative to the Q4 call. Is that primarily on expected blended lease spreads coming down a little bit relative to the 3% to 4% you were thinking before? Or is some of it also related to perhaps occupancy being a bit lower than what you expected?

Primarily the blended lease spread as we referred to. occupancy, as you know, is something that we won't compromise on to Gregg's point, that is key to us reducing our operating expenses and keeping turnover costs low. And so occupancy will remain high. Again, our team is doing a great job of maintaining that low availability. But to do so, I think we're seeing those blended lease spreads, although we are seeing them increase, we're looking for kind of the 1% to 2% blended spreads over the next several months.

Got it. Okay. And then just in terms of like your incentives remain very low and they're actually down year-over-year. Is the expectation for the breadth of the incentive offering to really just reside within new construct? Or are you having to start increase incentives on renewals in older product in any of the markets?

Not really the more affordable product, Mario. Again, we're focused on net rents. And so our approach really is to be very dynamic on our market and our ask rents, being flexible to our residents as well. We did trial some, call it, 1-month incentives in some of our newer communities or more higher-priced communities. And what we found was that residents that were shopping were actually looking for the lower net price as opposed to providing that 1 month free. So our team's approach in terms of just adjusting market rent or adjusting net rents will likely be the strategy we take through this leasing season. I think for incentives, I would expect that number to stay flat or perhaps even come down further to this frankly, a fairly negligible figure. And we'll focus in on what our net occupied rents going forward.

Got it. Okay. My last question, just pertaining to the Alberta immigration referendum slated for October. Are you getting any sense that, that's having any impact whatsoever in terms of migration into the province at this stage? And how do you see that playing out over time?

We're really not, Mario. I mean what we're seeing is, frankly, across the country, immigration levels lower from our federal level plan. That's pretty well impacting all markets as we know. But here in Alberta, again, we talked about reviewing our dashboards in traffic. Traffic continues to be quite strong. We're getting a lot of inquiries. The difference is residents have a lot more choice because there is more supply and more availability in the broader market. In Alberta, when we look at where our phone calls are coming from and where inquiries are coming from, we continue to see several and lots of calls from BC area codes from Ontario area codes, from Manitoba area codes. And so the Alberta advantage is still there. Our property taxes are going to be higher, yes. But that's a function of this population growth that we've had. And so we're working closely in sharing information and data with our government leaders so we can make the best decisions going forward here. Fortunately, we do have some potentially higher resource revenue here going forward. And so we'll -- we are optimistic that we will not be seeing this type of volatility in our taxes over the coming couple of years. But sadly, with the increase that we have so far this year. We've had to make some other adjustments, which is allowing us to probably still deliver strong NOI growth by making adjustments elsewhere.

And your next question comes from Jimmy Shan from RBC Capital Markets.

So first, just on the guidance, are you assuming the $200 million unit buyback?

Yes, that is included in our guidance here, yes. That we will deploy the additional roughly $100 million this year.

Okay. And then maybe just a big picture question. Oil prices are elevated still and a lot of discussions on more energy investments, pipeline, data center, et cetera. So the Alberta macro picture looks good, at least from my perspective, do you expect to feel the impact of these sort of macro factors on rental demand in the near term? How do we think about that?

We are absolutely feeling the positives of the macro necessity where we have to build a pipeline to have a Canadian independent energy nation. We have to build data centers and the most affordable energy produces the most affordable data centers and to be quite honest, the most affordable manufacturing. So energy is everything, and we're seeing geopolitically how important it is to have energy independence. And it's essential. And so absolutely, with what's going on, we have to step up and build these pipelines and become energy independent as a nation.

Right. But do you feel like that's probably a few years away though, before we see that translate into your business?

What's happening now with pipelines getting approved, gas distribution infrastructure getting approved. So we're seeing the permits come through. And we need to just partner up as a government designation, we need to become partners with this critical infrastructure, just like we are with roads and housing. CMHC is a great example of how we partner together to build more housing and look -- and it has proven our rents are coming down and our housing is more affordable because of our partnership with our government. And guess what, CMHC is one of the most probable government organizations in the nation. So it works. We've got -- and our Trans Mountain Pipeline is a really good example of that, too. That's helping increase revenues and our treasury is benefiting as a result of that investment that we made in from the people have made. And so we just have to -- and we're very pleased with the current federal administration that recognizes the importance of investing in critical infrastructure that we've needed 10, 20 years ago, to be quite honest, but I'm getting off track, and I'm going to just end it right there.

And your next question comes from Matt Kornack from National Bank Financial.

Just a quick modeling one to start off. In terms of Aspire, can you give us a sense as to the number of units that are still unleased and kind of the cadence of those units being leased over this year?

Matt, it's James. Aspire. We've got about 120 left to lease. We would have assumed roughly a 12-month lease-up. We're a little ahead of that schedule. Our team is going to push to see if we can get that in the kind of 10- to 12-month window. But we don't actually want it to be too far ahead because we ideally like our residents when we are moving into a new community to have the best experience as well as staggering lease maturities. And so we would anticipate the 10- to 12-month...

Okay. That makes sense. And then just from a capital allocation standpoint, you're a little bit more active on the disposition front than I think we expected. But it seems like the best use of -- to Jimmy's point, the best use of that capital is buying Boardwalk's existing portfolio at a 6.3% cap rate. But what are you seeing outside of Boardwalk's portfolio in terms of acquisition opportunities as well?

We remain fully engaged with the brokerage community, and it's interesting as we see cap rate shifts depending on which market you're referring to across the country. And we're always looking for the best or most exceptional opportunity that will help us improve our free cash flow, provide operational efficiencies and enhance our FFO. So we're always looking. But today, where our current stock price is, we remain very focused on our unit buybacks.

That makes sense. And then just lastly, on the property tax side. I know this isn't the U.S. where you have these huge swings in terms of getting reimbursement. But what has been your path to kind of track record in terms of engaging with the city and reducing the burden?

Historically, pretty good. We're all about -- we're happy to pay our fair share. But at the end of the day, we're just -- we're working with our municipalities in terms of making sure that our assessments are representative on an equity basis, so on a comparable basis. Stay tuned. We'll let everybody know, but we are active in those assessment appeals as we speak in both Alberta and Saskatchewan.

And your last question comes from Kyle Stanley from Desjardins.

Just on the new supply side of things, as you speak with developers in Calgary and Edmonton, how are they thinking about the current supply-demand environment today? And is there a view that the level of competition maybe doesn't require more supply? Just trying to think about how we look at the, I guess, the supply picture over the next 12, 18 months.

Maybe I can start. Certainly, in our conversations with supplier, with developers one great way we can see this is the number of phone calls that we get on this, where we're being asked to partner or to equitize. That's really increased. And so part of that is, at the end of the day, the math just is a lot tougher to make work when you have higher property taxes, when you have higher availability and higher competition and lower net rents, especially at that upper end. And so I think when you have developers who are doing this, they're figuring out pretty quickly that, especially if you're projecting out a couple of years, which is what it -- how long it takes to bring these buildings from ground up, that all of a sudden that math may not work anymore. And so as a result, you are seeing -- and we are expecting under construction figures to continue to decrease and decline. You are seeing the start of that in Calgary and Edmonton, and we would anticipate that to continue in the absence of significant national population growth levels.

Okay. That tracks well. Just one more for me. Obviously, historically, you've been quite good itself moderating your rent growth, particularly on renewals. But now as you're getting these higher taxes pushed through, do you potentially have the ability to pass a little bit more of that on via a little bit higher of a renewal rent increase? Or would that have more of a material, I guess, negative impact on turnover at this point, which is obviously, as you said, not what you're looking to do?

Kyle, it's Sam. And over the last 20, 30, 40 years, rents track consumer price index. And so it's all going to get washed out in inflationary adjustments that we've seen over the many, many decades. And so it all rebalances eventually. But right now, we're really, really what we call yoga flexible with our renewals and want to drive high satisfaction and a high renewal and retention and a super high referral as well. And that, as we've seen, creates the best margin and bottom line as well. What's good for our resident family members is also good for our bottom line, too. It goes hand in hand. And we have to be patient and over time, everything works out and balances up. And we continue and will continue to take a very resident family member strict approach to making adjustments and treat everybody as individuals and everybody has a different situation and be sensitive to everybody's situation because what we're providing is essential product housing. It's very personal, it's essential. And we recognize that. And trust is everything, and that's why we have to continue to be so resin family member focused.

There are no more further questions at this time. I will turn it back to Mr. Sam Kolias for closing remarks.

Thank you, Kelsey. As always, if there are any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us. With gratitude, we'd like to thank our entire team that puts the extra in ordinary. Day in, day out, our team is truly extraordinary. Thank you all of the residents, teammates here, lenders partners and of course, our unitholders from far and wide and local really is all about our BFS, our Boardwalk Family Forever whose huge shoulders we stand. And as leaders, we continue to do everything we can to support continued growth in extraordinary. We really can't thank our extraordinary team and great leaders enough. We are pleased with our solid results on a foundation of exceptional value service and experience we continue to provide our resident family members, our investors and all our stakeholders. We conclude home is where our heart is, our heart is where our family is and our families where Love always lives. Our occupied average rent, $1,601 our Love always priceless. Welcome home to Love Always. Our future is Boardwalk Family Forever, what can be more important when choosing where to call home. God bless us and now more than ever, grant us all peace, our greatest prize of all.

Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude your conference call for today. We thank you very much for your participation, and you may now disconnect. Have a great day, everyone.