Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.

Good day, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss equity lifestyle properties second quarter 2024 results. Our featured speakers today are Marguerite Nader, our president and CEO, Paul Seavey, our executive vice president and CFO, and Patrick Waite, our executive vice president and COO. In advance of today's call, management released earnings. Today's call will consist of opening remarks and a question and answer session with management relating to the company's earnings release. For those who would like to participate in the question and answer session, management asks that you limit yourselves to two questions, so everyone who would like to participate has ample opportunity. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Certain matters discussed during this conference call may contain forward-looking statements in the meaning of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements are subject to certain economic risks and uncertainties. The company assumes no obligation to update our supplement any statements that become untrue because of subsequent events. In addition, during today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures as defined by SEC Regulation G. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release. our supplemental information, and our historical SEC filings. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Marguerite Nader, our president and CEO.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today. I am pleased to report the results for the second quarter of 2024. Our performance exceeded our expectations. For the first six months of 2024, we have seen an increase in NOI of 6.4% as compared to last year. We focus on translating NOI growth to normalized FFO growth. Our normalized FFO growth year to date is 5.9% driven by continued strength in our annual revenue and reduced expenses throughout our portfolio. The strength of our portfolio results and our balance sheet allow us to increase full year guidance for the second time this year. We have raised full year guidance for normalized FFO to $2.91 at the midpoint. The demographics of the U.S. population support the demand for our MH and RV portfolio, with 70% of our MH portfolio catering to seniors and a strong interest in RV travel among older adults. Approximately 70 million baby boomers are currently enjoying their retirement years, followed by nearly 140 million Gen Xers and millennials. We see long-term generational demand for all of our property offerings. Our MH portfolio, which comprises 60% of our overall revenue, is approximately 95% occupied. Over the last 10 years, we have sold over 5,500 new homes in our communities. These new homes contribute to the quality of housing stock in the community. Currently, less than 3% of our occupancy is comprised of rental homes. The high level of occupancy in our portfolio is sustainable, and based on demand, we believe we can continue to increase occupancy throughout our portfolio. With respect to our RV business, our annual segment, which represents the largest portion of our RV revenue stream, performed well in the quarter, and we anticipate growth rates of 7% for the full year 2024. Since 2018, our total core RV revenue has had an annual growth rate of 5.6%. We have seen significant shifts in customer behavior as we increase the number of annuals in our core portfolio by approximately 3,000 sites. This increased stable customer base will be an important part of our future performance. We are proud to share that 50 of our RV resorts and campgrounds have received the recently announced 2024 TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award. Each year, this award is given to approximately 10% of the businesses listed on TripAdvisor. Our property teams provide guests with positive experiences when they stay with us, and referrals from our guests are a top source of new customers. We continue to engage our guests, members, and prospects through our social media strategy. We have grown our fan and follower base to over 2 million across Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and other social platforms. We are currently in the middle of our 100 Days of Camping campaign that focuses on the days of summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I want to express my gratitude for our employees for their exceptional contributions this quarter. Their hard work in serving our customers is the key reason behind our ongoing success. I will now turn the call over to Patrick to provide further details on our financial performance.

Thanks, Marguerite. The consistency of our results over time comes from our strong property locations and the value that each of our residents and guests finds at their home property. Value is top of mind for consumers across the country, including homebuyers and vacationers. Our offerings are attractive in any economy, and we are particularly well positioned to serve customers who are looking for value in a challenging economic environment. Our MH portfolio maintains high occupancy and provides consistent revenue growth. We sold 255 new homes during the second quarter, an increase of 13% year over year. Since 2018, the CAGR for total MH revenue is 5.6%. These results are driven by consistent rate growth through economic cycles, coupled with an opportunity for occupancy growth. This long-term demand is supported by the value residents find in our communities. high-quality homes that compare favorably to alternatives in our submarkets, and an active lifestyle that is not available elsewhere at the price point offered at ELS communities. Today's homebuyers are increasingly focused on value and affordability given increases in housing costs and higher interest rates. Manufactured housing offers a value advantage compared to site-built homes. The average cost of purchasing an ELS new home is approximately $100,000 compared to $500,000 average costs of purchasing a new site-built home. That value holds true for renters in our portfolio as well. Those who rent a new ELS home pay $1,400, or approximately 35% less than the average three-bedroom apartment in the same sub-markets. Manufactured home communities offer value in any economy, but in today's housing market, marked by constrained supply and facing price pressures and increased interest rates, ELS manufactured home communities present exceptional value. The monthly payments for homebuyers in ELS communities are approximately 70% less than the buyers of single-family homes in the same submarkets. Homeowners in ELS communities enjoy comparable fixtures and finishes as site-built homeowners, as well as a resort lifestyle in a community setting, and often lower maintenance costs as well, which is another appealing factor for buyers facing higher living expenses. The combination of home affordability, inventory availability, and the result Resort lifestyle found in our communities makes our offerings very attractive to home buyers in today's housing market. For the RV portfolio, we are in the middle of the 2024 summer season, with two of the big three holiday weekends behind us. Transient RV revenue is less than 5.5% of our total revenue and is prone to volatility, largely driven by weather events. Similar to our other RV offerings, transient stays offer real value to our guests. Our average rolling stock nightly rate is $70. Our average rental cabin rate is $140, as compared to average hotel nightly rates of $160. Vacationers are looking for value and affordability when considering their travel options, and our RV resorts offer budget-friendly vacations in premier destinations that align with consumers' focus on value this summer, including our longer-term stays. Our average annual site rent is approximately $6,000, while a seasonal site that's typically a four-month stay for a customer who brings their RV is about $1,100 a month. The combination of exceptional property locations and a variety of offerings for customers to choose from translates to consistent year-over-year revenue growth. I'll do a quick around the horn to highlight our RV performance. As Marguerite mentioned, since 2018, total RV revenue produced a CAGR of 5.6%. That growth is supported by our strong property locations concentrated in the Sun Belt and along the coasts. Florida is our largest market, and given leading in-migration trends and a strong economy, it also leads our portfolio with a 2018 RV revenue CAGR of 6.6%. The West region, which includes our next two largest markets, California and Arizona, produced a 2018 RV revenue CAGR of 5.1%, while our north region, ranging from the Great Lakes to the eastern coastline, produced a 2018 CAGR of 5.3%. The revenue growth CAGRs for both our MH and RV portfolios are approaching 6%. Those results come from consistently meeting resident and customer demand. In today's environment, consumers are seeking value, and we continue to provide high-quality lifestyle offerings at an attractive price. I'll now turn it over to Paul.