Dive Brief:
- The board of directors for Independence Realty Trust approved a 5.9% increase in its quarterly dividend of IRT common stock, according to a May 13 press release.
- With the bump from $0.17 per share to $0.18 per share, the board is showing “our conviction in the strength of our operating platform and the improving fundamentals we are seeing across our markets," said Scott Schaeffer, chairman and CEO of IRT, in the release.
- The second-quarter 2026 dividend will be payable on July 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 26, per the release. “This increase is a direct expression of our confidence in our ability to grow cash flow and deliver sustainable, long-term value to our shareholders,” Schaeffer said.
Dive Insight:
IRT, which has 34,421 units and ranked No. 29 on the latest National Multifamily Housing Council Top 50, has a portfolio that spans Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, per its website.
“While select markets continue to work through elevated concessions, demand in our submarkets remains durable and continues to be supported by population inflows into the Sun Belt and Midwest for quality of life, employment opportunities and long-term affordability trends,” Schaeffer said on the REIT’s April 30 earnings call.
Despite supply issues in some of the REIT’s markets, Schaeffer sees resilient demand for apartment homes, which leaves IRT “well-positioned to capture the benefits of a favorable supply-demand environment” as deliveries moderate in the future, per the release
“The trajectory we are seeing in asking rents, along with the stability of demand, supports our outlook for sequential improvement in revenue as we move through the leasing season,” Schaeffer said.
In Q1, IRT saw increases in same-store revenue and net operating income, reflecting stable year-over-year occupancy that hit 95.2% and a 40-basis-point increase in effective rents, Schaeffer said.
“Asking rents in our markets have increased an average of 2.8% this year, and every one of our markets has seen asking rents increase since January 1,” Schaeffer said on the call.
IRT has prioritized occupancy in recent months, and Schaeffer said that positioned the REIT to prioritize rental rate growth during leasing season.
“Concession activity has started to moderate, but is still elevated compared to historical levels,” Schaeffer said. “The combination of normalizing concessions and the trajectory of market rent growth against our known lease expirations supports our confidence that new lease trade-outs will reach breakeven this leasing season.”
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