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The call conveyed a constructive operational and capital allocation story: strong occupancy, elevated resident retention and renewal growth, concrete capital market actions (dispositions, DPE repayments, share repurchases), liquidity in excess of $1 billion, and positive market outperformance in coastal metros (notably San Francisco and New York). Near-term headwinds include elevated weather-driven expenses, a modest sequential FFOA decline versus prior year, and softening in parts of the Sunbelt, together with regulatory uncertainty in select markets. On balance, management presented multiple offsetting positives and a clear plan to deploy capital accretively.
UDR said it is maintaining its full‑year 2026 same‑store and earnings guidance after a solid start: Q1 results were in line with expectations (Q1 FFOA per share $0.62, at the midpoint), same‑store revenue +90 bps Y/Y, same‑store expense growth 4.4% (would be ~100 bps lower excluding ~$1.4M of storm-related costs), and resident retention at an all‑time high (300 bps above prior year) with renewal rate growth of 5.2% (up 70 bps Y/Y); the company began the year with occupancy ~97% and continues to expect Q2 blended lease rate growth of 1.5%–2.0%, occupancy in the mid‑96% range, and Q2 FFOA per share of $0.62–$0.64 (midpoint $0.63, ~2% sequential increase), noting the full‑year guide assumes first‑half blended lease growth will equal the second half and will be reassessed next quarter.
Portfolio started the year with ~97% occupancy; Q1 occupancy in the mid-96% range. Resident retention at an all-time high and 300 basis points higher year-over-year; reported turnover of ~29% (substantially below historical averages).
Year-over-year same-store revenue growth of +90 basis points. Blended lease rate growth of 1.6% in Q1 and management expects 1.5%–2.0% blended growth in H1; company notes each 1% of blended growth is roughly $7 million of annual NOI benefit.
Renewal rate growth of 5.2% in Q1 — up 70 basis points versus the prior year and nearly double 2025 renewal growth, contributing to higher cash flow and lower turnover-driven expense.
San Francisco: blended lease rate growth ~10% with occupancy in the high-97% range. New York: blended lease rate growth ~7% with occupancy above 98%. Coastal regions posted ~3.1% blends in April (vs. 2.8% in Q1).
Sold four communities for $362 million; repurchased $150 million of stock in the quarter and $268 million since September. Received ~$139 million from DPE repayments. Management emphasizes selling at attractive private prices and buying back shares as accretive.
Ground-up development (3099 Iowa, Riverside) is ahead of schedule and under budget with initial occupancy expected in 2026 (vs. prior 2027). Gained control of a 232-unit Portland community via DPE with expected stabilized yields in the high-5% range and an initial effective yield around 5%.
Investment-grade balance sheet with more than $1 billion of liquidity; Q1 FFOA per share of $0.62 (midpoint of guidance) and Q2 FFOA guidance of $0.62–$0.64 (midpoint ~$0.63, ~2% sequential increase expected).
Announced transition to a monthly dividend (first residential REIT to do so) to attract high net worth, family office and retail investors. Company highlighted 53 straight years of dividends totaling nearly $9 billion as supporting credibility.
Greetings, and welcome to the UDR, Inc. First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Vice President of Investor Relations, Trent Trujillo. Thank you. Mr. Trujillo, you may begin.
Thank you, and welcome to UDR, Inc.'s quarterly financial results conference call. Our press release and supplemental disclosure package were distributed yesterday afternoon and posted to the Investor Relations section of our refreshed website at ir.udr.com. In the supplement, we have reconciled all non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure in accordance with Reg G requirements. Statements made during this call, which are not historical, may constitute forward-looking statements. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be met. Discussion of risks and risk factors are detailed in our press release and included in our filings with the SEC. We do not undertake a duty to update any forward-looking statements. When we get to the question and answer portion, to be respectful of everyone's time and in an attempt to complete our call within one hour, we will limit questions to one per analyst.
We kindly ask that you rejoin the queue if you have a follow-up question or additional items to discuss. Management will be available after the call to address any questions that did not get answered during the Q&A session today. I will now turn the call over to UDR, Inc...
