The Long View

Why we take the long view in real estate

Dear partners and friends,

We are launching this monthly newsletter to share our perspective on the real estate market economics, preview the projects we are building and acquiring, and give you a closer look at the latest from our team at Heartwood.

The name is inspired by Peter Schwartz’s The Art of the Long View and its central idea: planning for the future in an uncertain world. We believe in taking a long-term perspective rather than being driven by short-term market conditions.

In an era of macroeconomic uncertainty, mounting geopolitical headwinds and continued market volatility, we believe investors, particularly real estate investors, should keep a long-term outlook when evaluating investments and returns. Real estate is inherently a long-term asset class, and a disciplined, long-term approach is what can produce the most consistent returns over time.

Our Growth and Income strategies are designed around this philosophy. Rather than chasing short-term opportunities, we seek to build and acquire assets that create durable value, generate long-term income and compound returns by being resilient assets over time.

The Long View Newsletter is an extension of that philosophy. Each month, we will share our view of the markets we build and buy in, preview new projects, and highlight the latest developments across the Heartwood platform.

We look forward to having you along for the journey as we continue to operate for the future, together.

Future Built.

David ConstableFounding Partner

Tim BlairFounding Partner

Build. Buy. Hold.

Heartwood’s living platform develops high-quality, energy-efficient communities, buys modern stabilized core properties, and holds them for long-term appreciation.

3385 Lawrence Avenue East

A purpose-built rental community in Scarborough, organised around a shared landscaped courtyard. The project reflects how we approach resilience: building systems chosen for long-term operating cost, generous amenity space residents actually use, and a design intended to age well rather than simply lease up quickly.

We will be starting construction updates in the coming months on this project.

Structural demand.
Shrinking supply.

That gap is why now is the time to invest in Canadian multifamily.

Short-term headlines about Canadian housing move with interest rates and immigration policy. Slower population growth and a wave of new completions have softened rents in some markets this year. Our long view has not changed: more households are renting for longer, and the country’s largest cities remain structurally short of purpose-built rental. Today’s softer conditions are also discouraging new starts, which will only widen the supply gap in the years ahead.

At the same time, the channel that has historically supplied much of our new rental stock (investor-owned condominiums) is closing. 7,243 condominium units were cancelled in 2025, double the prior year, and starts continue to slow.¹ Existing institutional-quality buildings are retaining occupancy and pricing power as a result.

As builders, this is an unusually favorable window. Projects entering construction today benefit from less competition for land, greater availability of construction manpower, and CMHC-insured construction financing. Government-backed financing, tax relief and public incentives for purpose-built rental lower our cost of capital and help de-risk development and initial lease-up.

As buyers and operators, we are seeing Canadian multifamily pricing reset. Institutional-quality rental assets are trading at roughly 4.0–5.5% capitalization rates, well above the 2021–2022 lows. With our newly launched Heartwood Residential Income Trust starting with no legacy assets, every acquisition we make is underwritten at today’s pricing rather than defended at yesterday’s.

This is where our Growth and Income strategies meet the market: building into the supply gap, and acquiring modern, stabilized communities at reset pricing.

1. Urbanation, Year-End 2025 Condominium Market Survey.