Dream Residential Real Estate Investment Trust

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Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the DREAM Residential REIT first quarter conference call for Thursday, May 9, 2024. During this call, management of DREAM Residential REIT may make statements containing forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties many of which are beyond DREAM residential REITs control that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Additional information about this assumption and risk and uncertainties is contained in DREAM residential REITs fillings with securities regulators, including its latest annual information from an MD&A. These fillings are also available on Dream Residential REIT's website at www.dreamresidentialreit.ca. Later in the presentation, we will have a question and answer session. To queue up for a question, press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Your host for today will be Mr. Brian Pauls, CEO of Dream Residential REIT. Mr. Pauls, please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for Dream Residential REIT's first quarter 2024 conference call. Speaking with me today are Scott Schumann, our Chief Operating Officer, and Derek Lau, our Chief Financial Officer. Financial and operational performance were consistent with management's expectations. For the fourth quarter, comparative properties NOI growth was 3.3% year-over-year, primarily driven by higher rents and our value-add renovations. Comparative properties NOI margin declined to 50.6% due to higher property insurance expenses, which took effect in 2023. Year over year, FFO per unit was 17.4 cents compared to 17.8 cents in the prior year period, largely due to higher G&A expenses offset by NOI growth, having one less property. The first quarter is traditionally a slower leasing season. where we prioritize occupancy over pushing rent growth. This was reflected in our operational metrics this quarter, with occupancy increasing 10 basis points quarter over quarter and average in-place rent essentially unchanged from Q4 2023. We achieved blended lease tradeouts of 2% during the quarter, driven by 4.4% spreads on renewals. We are continuing to experience elevated levels of supply in certain markets, However, we are optimistic that we will see improvements through the latter half of the year as market supply is absorbed and new construction begins to taper. We commenced our value-add program in Cincinnati in Q1 2024 and completed 34 renovations across the portfolio with another 27 currently under renovation. We expect renovation activity will be higher in the second and third quarter of the year. Renovation premiums moderated during Q1 2024 but on a relatively small sample size. We continue to be prudent with our capital allocation decisions and will balance liquidity needs in a strong balance sheet with investment decisions. We renewed our NCIB during the quarter and continue to have it available as a tool if we determine it to be the appropriate use of capital. We have met with several investors and analysts this year and recognize the importance of enhancing our trading liquidity. We are constantly evaluating ways to increase investor awareness as well as our public float. which would drive greater trading interest. Increasing liquidity for our investors is one of our priorities for 2024. Overall, Q1 2024 was a steady quarter. While elevated supply and interest rates continue to challenge the sector, our portfolio remains defensive and is performing both operationally and financially. Our assets, capital structure, and platform continue to be well positioned to outperform in uncertain conditions. I will now turn it over to Scott to provide an operations update for the quarter. Scott?

Thank you, Brian. We are pleased to report $6.1 million net operating income consistent with early year expectations. Comparative property revenue grew 1.9% quarter over quarter and 6.2% year over year, resulting in 3.3% same property NOI growth year over year. Winter season occupancy ticked up 10 basis points, as Brian mentioned, from last quarter to 93.8%, 30 basis points above the trailing 12-month average. Cincinnati occupancy eased to 94.9% with the introduction of our value-add program, whereas Dallas-Fort Worth and Oklahoma City regions tightened to 92.2% and 94.2%, respectively, higher than Q1-23 and higher than their respective 12-month averages. Leasing conditions reflected winter seasonality and supply dynamics. Blended tradeouts edged upwards 40 basis points from Q4 to a 2.0% average increase, strengthened by a 100 basis point pickup in renewal tradeouts and an intentionally sustained increase in renewal rates as compared with the trailing 12-month period. New lease tradeouts remained inverted with renewals, tempering in Cincinnati and Oklahoma City and steadying in Dallas-Fort Worth. In-place rents of $1,155 per month remained relatively unchanged from Q4, a trend consistent with typical seasonality. Year-over-year portfolio rents grew 5.5%, moderating in Dallas-Fort Worth at 1.9% as a result of peak deliveries, and buoyed by strong in-place growth of 7.4% in Cincinnati and 6.4% in Oklahoma City. Over the past year, DRR rent growth outpaced national and same market regional rent growth benchmarks by an average of more than 400 basis points. For example, apartment list recorded national annual rent growth at negative 0.8% and Dallas-Fort Worth annual rent growth at negative 2.1%, whereas Dream Residential REIT generated 5.5% and 1.9% comparative rental growth returns. These fundamentals continue to reinforce the safe, defensive attributes of our portfolio, accompanied by the value creation upside demonstrated over the past two years. Our value add continued in 2024 with a measured intent, sensitive to broader market conditions, traditional seasonality, and our operational emphasis on renewals and occupancy. Our self-performed teams renovated 34 suites, achieving 10.6% lease tradeouts across a limited data set early in the year. We are drafting more starts into construction during Q2, metering in suites in parallel with leasing activity and attentive to vacancy and demand, sub-market by sub-market. I am pleased with early indications of construction cost savings and confident that our operations and construction teams will continue to strike the right balance of stability and growth during a time of sector-wide short-term pressures. We are confident in our property-level operations, performance, vertically integrated teams, and our outlook. The REIT is off to a good start as anticipated and is positioned to outperform sector comparables. We are mindful of the near-term supply conditions that are permeating nationally and filtering into our markets. These present circumstances drive our thoughtful renewal strategies and prudent value-add integration and will enable us to capitalize upon the slightest uptakes from summer seasonality and from the forthcoming waning delivery of new-built supply later this year and into 2025. The multifamily landscape has been and continues to be impacted by cyclical elements and macroeconomic winds, the foremost examples being new construction supply, interest rates, and inflation. However, the four-lease housing sector remains structurally sound and systemically undersupplied. Construction starts and multifamily permits are tumbling. COSTAR data points to an estimated 75% reduction in starts, comparing Q1 to 2022 to Q1 2024. Globe Street reported a year-over-year 43% cutback in starts in March, accompanied by permit levels down nearly 30%. With apartment demand remaining resilient, for-sale housing growing more unaffordable, and the supply dynamics projected to reverse course and flip over the next 24 to 36 months, Dream Residential is focused on positioning our safely capitalized, strong-performing platform for opportunistic growth during this cycle ahead. I will now turn it over to Derek Lau, our Chief Financial Officer.

Thanks, Scott, and good morning. Financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024, were consistent with management's expectation. For the quarter, diluted funds from operation was $0.174 per unit and compares to $0.178 in the prior year quarter. Net operating income and NOI margin were $6.1 million and 50.6% respectively. This compares to 6 million and 51.9% in the prior year quarter. Overall, this quarter's NOI was slightly higher year over year while having one less property, which was sold in Q4 2023. For Q1 2024, operating revenue and operating expenses, excluding the impact of IFRIC 21, were $12 million and $5.9 million respectively. On a same property basis, NOI increased by 3.3% year-over-year. For the quarter, general and administrative expenses were $881,000, and interest and other income totaled $75,000. Net total debt to net total assets was 32.2% as of March 31, 2024. All of our debt remains fixed rate. Liquidity at the end of the quarter was approximately $79 million, comprising $9 million of cash on hand and full availability of our credit facility. In April, we extended our credit facility by two years to March 28, 2027, providing continued financial flexibility. IFRS NAV at March 31, 2024 is $13.52 per unit compared to $13.50 at December 31, 2023. The IFRS values of our properties was $398.1 million, largely consistent with the value at the end of Q4, 2023. We recorded an 11 basis point increase in cap rates to 5.74%, increased in four 12-month NOI. For 2024, we are maintaining our comparative property NOI guidance of 3% to 5%. In addition, we continue to expect 2024 FFO per unit to be in a low $0.70 range, excluding any acquisitions in our current total unit cap. Thank you. I'll now turn it back to Brian. Thank you, Derek.

We'd now like to open the call to questions.

Thank you. We will now take questions from the telephone lines. If you have a question, please press star 1 on your device's keypad. You may consult your question at any time by pressing star 2. Please press star 1 at this time if you have a question. There will be a brief pause while the participants register for questions. Thank you for your patience. The first question is from Alexander Leon from Desjardins Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Hey, good morning, guys. My first question is just on the same property OPEX growth. I'm wondering if you can give some commentary on the increase and whether or not that's kind of the expectation for the remainder of the year, a similar level as 1Q.

Good morning, Alexander. This is Scott. Thank you for your question. The year-over-year OPEX growth is attributed primarily to utility and insurance growth. About the midpoint last year, we renewed insurance, and 2023 was a challenging year in terms of insurance renewals, but we see that as stabilizing. From a controllable OpEx perspective, we're very optimistic about where we stand, and we would expect that to come more into balance over the course of the remainder of this year.

Okay, got it. So moderating in the back half, I guess. In terms of new leasing spreads, have you seen any improvement kind of April and so far in May?

We, in Q, the answer is yes. In Q4, we sort of, we see that as the low point over the past, over where we are right now. We saw 1.6% blended tradeouts in Q4. We saw 2.0% blended tradeouts in Q1. And I think we're going to hold about that same trajectory in the early look of Q2.

Got it. Thanks. And then last question for me is just kind of on the lease trade-outs on the value-add program. So those kind of decelerated a little bit quarter over quarter. I was just wondering if that was in line with internal expectations and expectations if sort of that was a function of like market week and seasonality or maybe specific to the actual units turned?

Well, you hit the nail on the head. Seasonality is a major part of our business. The leases that we sign in Q4 are typically, you know, executed in Q3. And in Q1, they're typically executed, you know, or signed up in Q4. So what you see are are leases that are in the heart of the winter seasonality. Conditions have obviously changed from, say, a year ago leasing conditions. But overall, I think we're sort of seeing a steadying and a normalizing. We would expect that to pick up through the spring and summer ahead.

Great. I appreciate the commentary, and thanks for taking my questions. I'll turn it back.

Thank you. Once again, please press star one on your device keypad if you have a question. The next question is from David Christopher, Echelon Capital Market. Please go ahead.

Thanks. Good morning, guys. Good morning. Market rent increased, I think, sequentially slightly, but in place was pretty flat, and obviously tradeouts are somewhat muted, but What's your expected timeline to narrow the gap between in-place and your kind of stated market rent? Thank you, Christopher.

We're pretty consistent in seeing that market rents are achieved over an 18 to 24-month period. And we would project that that remains in place.

And would the kind of flat quarter over quarter in place rent just be indicative of your focus on occupancy rather than pushing maximum rent in the slower season?

That certainly is a part of it. I think it is a slower leasing season through the winter months. And so we're always going to be sensitive to those leasing conditions day-to-day, week-to-week, and that's what we've experienced over Q4 and Q1. Okay.

And kind of shifting to transaction, both on the kind of buy or sell side, are there any assets you'd be looking to dispose of? And can you maybe comment on the transaction market as it stands today?

Yeah. Hi, Dave. It's Brian. Just to comment on that, we're coming up a really slow quarter for transactions, so we're not seeing many transactions, although we are seeing the bid-ask spread maybe narrow. We run a constant analysis of all of our properties, kind of ranking them from highest future performers to lower, so we are looking at recycling potentially a few assets as we go. But, you know, we're not in a hurry to recycle any assets and we are looking for strategic ones to buy. So we're coming into a season that we think is going to be a better, you know, potentially a better buy season as we go as transactions start to pick up.

And as far as your next dollar of capital, would it be fair to say you're still your main focus is on the value add program? And then beyond that, where would your next dollar go?

Yeah, it's very accurate. I'd say we're looking at value as a big priority for us. Value add, we have an NCIB in place. We're looking at acquisitions. I mentioned before we have looked at JVs. We're looking at allocation of capital very prudently. We've got a very strong balance sheet that we want to preserve, but we're also looking hard at acquisitions or things that could be really strategic for us.

But as an ongoing kind of immediate priority, value-add is the highest priority for sure. Okay, great. I'll turn it back. Thanks.

Thank you. The next question is from Paul Walker from Drummond Point Capital. Please go ahead.

Good morning, guys. Good morning. I just wanted to just kind of, I guess, maybe if you could conceptualize for me started with the capital allocation framework. And I'm just trying to kind of piece together, because when I look at your unit values, and, you know, I know that you guys are pressing the value add program a lot. And I'm just curious, like, at what point is your stock attractive to you? And if you're looking to kind of increase liquidity in the market, do you feel that maybe your capital allocation framework isn't being communicated to the market maybe as coherently as it could be. I guess that's where I, I'm trying to like piece together. I've been involved with this since December of 22, when we first got in and, you know, I've added on and we're, we're just trying to figure out like looking at the pricing, looking at the value add program, looking at the backdrop that like at what kind of price is the NCIB program, you know, attractive.

Yeah. Paul, it's a fair question. And I mentioned in my prepared remarks that liquidity is a big priority for us. Obviously, value-add does a lot of things. It increases our income. It also increases our reversion exit potential pricing. So it's a big priority for us. Buying stock back does reduce some of the float. We're spending a lot of time and a lot of effort to get our name out there. We do believe we're underappreciated given our NAV, where our properties are, and our performance. I think we're performing quite well, but a lot of this is kind of getting out of the shadows and getting our name more well-known. We've met with a lot of investment advisors and a lot of investors, showing them the opportunity. I think it screens very, very well. So we're maintaining a pretty – conservative balance sheet at the same time, want to make sure we get our name out there and that we're in a position to grow the company and do acquisitions, um, you know, when they're, when they present themselves. So it's a, it's a balance in terms of capital allocation amongst all of those, um, you know, all of those opportunities.

Yeah. And I'm not, I'm not trying to press you here on it because I actually really like what you guys have been doing. And, you know, I've, I've met with Scott and Derek before and find, uh, the approach extremely sound and very, you know, very thoughtful in terms of how you guys are renovating these units and the types of properties that you're focusing on and in the market specifically. And I'm just, I'm trying to, I'm trying to get like, you know, basically spitball with you guys, where you think some of the, you know, the low hanging fruit is, you know, with some of these screens, like you're talking about with advisors and, you know, other funds and stuff, they want to see certain growth. So even just throwing like a one penny increase in the dividend distribution rate or pardon me, the distribution rate, you know, some of that stuff starts to screen in more and, you know, just, just kind of just thinking about like, you know, having a multi-pronged approach to saying, you know, like, you know, every, every quarter and every year, these are kind of the three things that we really look at and we want to make sure that we're at least addressing each one. And in some years we might, you know, hit the buyback major. In some years we might just choose to increase the distribution. And I actually like right now the idea of being very cautious and waiting for, you know, somebody to puke out a really attractive property and for you guys to be there and being able to purchase it. So I like that. I just think it's, as you said, how to get that story out to the rest of the market and being, you know, being able to kind of communicate that effectively.

Yep, we do have a strategy for getting that message out. Your comments are certainly duly noted. It's something that the board and we as management review all of the time. Every time we meet, we look at these options, and those are good comments. Okay, well, thanks for your time.

Thank you. Once again, please press star one on your device keypad if you have a question. The next question is from Golden Nguyen Afyar from TD Securities. Please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone. Most of my questions already got answered, so maybe I'll just ask a quick one. Just on the mark-to-market, it was quite strong in the quarter, about 9%. Just wondering if this was consistent across the portfolio, or do you see any markets that stand out there?

Thank you. It's not consistent across every market, and it does factor in the value-add component. For example, the mark-to-market in Cincinnati kicked up in Q1, and part of that is a result of the organic opportunities that we're seeing in Cincinnati, but it is also coupled with the value-add program being introduced there. So the mark-to-market for us is a pretty – It moves day-to-day, week-to-week. The lease and trade revenue processes that we have in place are optimized by floor plan. They're optimized by day-to-day demand. So we see that as being accurate and reflective of what we're going to do over the next 18 to 24 months based upon our renewal rates and the value-add program.

Okay, great. Thanks. I'll turn it back.

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the meeting back over to you, Mr. Brian Paul.

Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for participating in today's call. We look forward to speaking again soon. Take care.

Thank you. The conference has now ended. Please disconnect your lines at this time, and we thank you for your participation.