NYSE:ELME Elme Communities Q4 2024 Earnings Report $15.57 -0.06 (-0.38%) Closing price 04/25/2025 03:59 PM EasternExtended Trading$15.54 -0.03 (-0.19%) As of 04/25/2025 04:20 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Polygon.io. Learn more. Earnings HistoryForecast Elme Communities EPS ResultsActual EPS$0.23Consensus EPS -$0.03Beat/MissBeat by +$0.26One Year Ago EPSN/AElme Communities Revenue ResultsActual RevenueN/AExpected Revenue$60.50 millionBeat/MissN/AYoY Revenue GrowthN/AElme Communities Announcement DetailsQuarterQ4 2024Date2/13/2025TimeAfter Market ClosesConference Call DateFriday, February 14, 2025Conference Call Time10:00AM ETUpcoming EarningsElme Communities' Q1 2025 earnings is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, 2025, with a conference call scheduled on Friday, May 2, 2025 at 10:00 AM ET. Check back for transcripts, audio, and key financial metrics as they become available.Conference Call ResourcesConference Call AudioConference Call TranscriptSlide DeckPress Release (8-K)Annual Report (10-K)Earnings HistoryCompany ProfileSlide DeckFull Screen Slide DeckPowered by Elme Communities Q4 2024 Earnings Call TranscriptProvided by QuartrFebruary 14, 2025 ShareLink copied to clipboard.PresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good day, and welcome to the Elm Communities Fourth Quarter twenty twenty four Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. And at this time, I would like to turn the call over to your host, Amy Hopkins, Vice President, Investor Relations. Amy, please go ahead. Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:20Good morning, and thank you for joining our fourth quarter earnings call. Today's event is being webcast with a slide presentation that is available on the Investors section of our website and will be available on our webcast replay. Statements made during this call may constitute forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially, and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold. Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:43We refer to certain Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:44of these risks in our SEC filings. Reconciliations of the GAAP and non GAAP financial measures discussed on this call are available in our most recent earnings press release and financial supplement, which was distributed yesterday and can be found on the Investors page of our website. Presenting on the call today will be Paul McDermott, our CEO Tiffany Butcher, our COO and Steve Freistat, our CFO. And with that, I will turn the call over to Paul. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:01:10Thanks, Amy. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning. I'll start by addressing the announcement we made in conjunction with our earnings release. I will also cover our 2024 achievements and the impact of the new administration's focus on government efficiency. Tiffany will discuss our operating trends and platform initiatives, and Steve will discuss our 2025 outlook. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:01:37Yesterday, we announced that the Elm Board of Trustees has launched a review to evaluate strategic alternatives. This decision is consistent with our commitment to act in the best interest of the company and our shareholders and to focus on maximizing shareholder value. We remain very confident about the long term prospects of our portfolio and the continued success of our value add, renovation pipeline and platform initiatives. However, shares of Elm continues to trade at a discount to our estimate of the company's private market value. While we regularly evaluate credible alternative opportunities to maximize value on behalf of our shareholders, after extensive board led strategic planning, the board has decided that a formal proactive process is appropriate at this time. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:02:31As such, the Elm Board of Trustees has initiated this formal review and retained financial and legal advisors. As is always the case with this type of process, there is no guarantee the review will result in any transaction or specific outcome, and we don't intend to disclose developments unless and until the company determines that disclosure is appropriate or required. While there isn't more we can say about the process at this time, we are confident we are taking the right steps to maximize value for shareholders. For the rest of the call, we will focus on our financial results, other business initiatives and outlook. Turning to 2024 highlights. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:03:19Operationally, it was a significant year as we advanced our multi year platform initiatives. We reached a key milestone with the successful launch of our shared services department, Elm Resident Services, which streamlined our resident account management, collections and renewal processes and improved our operating efficiency. We also launched Phase one of our managed Wi Fi initiative and the related NOI growth will be ramping up throughout 2025. I'm proud of the transformation efforts put in by our teams last year and look forward to continuing to progress our initiatives and platform efficiency this year. Turning to the priorities of the new administration, there has been plenty of speculation, so we'll stick to the facts and what's happening on the ground. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:04:12The Washington Metro is widely recognized for its diverse and growing private sector economy. Approximately 97% of job growth over the last twelve months has been driven by industries other than the federal government. Federal jobs only represent about 11% of regional employment as over 80% of the 2,100,000 civilian positions in the federal government across the country are located outside the DMV. Elm's direct exposure to federal jobs is limited. Of the two thirds of our Washington Metro resident base for whom we have detailed job level data, only 6.2% work at non Department of Defense federal government agencies in the Washington Metro area and 4% work at federal contractors. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:05:06For community level exposure, Slide 11 of our latest investor presentation maps the departments and agencies where we have the highest exposure and provides the concentrations at proximate communities. Overall, our highest direct exposure to non DoD federal government jobs at the community level is in the low double digits. In terms of what we are seeing on the ground, our demand trends across the Washington Metro remain solid and in line with our expectations and seasonal norms. The Washington Metro Area was a top performing market in 2024 and we believe it is positioned for another strong year in 2025. Net inventory ratios remain low and the high cost of housing creates sustained demand for value oriented rental options. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:05:58The region is positioned to continue to thrive, offering a highly skilled workforce, advanced technology infrastructure, an entrepreneurial atmosphere and unmatched global connections. We are confident in the growth prospects of our Washington Metro portfolio and look forward to gaining more clarity soon and keeping you updated during future calls. And with that, I'll turn it over to Tiffany. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:06:25Thanks, Paul. Starting with supplydemand dynamics in our markets. Overall, we are well positioned as we believe Elm submarkets will face less supply pressure than The U. S. And Sunbelt markets generally with projected average annual net inventory growth of 2.2% over the next four quarters, while The U. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:06:44S. And Sunbelt are expected to see 2.84.6% growth respectively. Our DMV portfolio remains very well insulated from new supply with quarterly net inventory ratios averaging 1.7% in Elm submarkets this year below the regional average of 2% based on current expectations. On the demand side, the trends are healthy and stable supported by the limited availability of high quality housing that is affordable to middle income residents. We anticipate another year of favorable supplydemand dynamics in the DMV. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:07:21In Atlanta, we expect to see gradual improvement in the supply dynamics with a more significant improvement in 2026. The weighted average net inventory ratio peaked at 4.3% in the first half of twenty twenty four across our Atlanta submarkets and is expected to remain relatively flat in 2025 compared to the 3.8% in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four. On a positive note, annual absorption has been very strong and is expected to be nearly 40% higher in 2025 compared to 2024 in Elm submarkets, which should help to balance the impact of new deliveries as the year progresses. Turning to operating trends, same store blended lease rate growth averaged 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 1.8% in January for our 2025 same store pool. Same store occupancy averaged 95% during the fourth quarter, up 20 basis points sequentially. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:08:19Retention rates remain above historical levels and our move outs to own remained very low during the fourth quarter at 8.5% as there is limited existing inventory and home ownership remains unaffordable for many middle income renters. On a year to date basis, same store occupancy has trended up slightly, averaging 95.1. We are targeting an average occupancy range of 95% to 95.5% for the year, which reflects a more normalized year in the DMV compared to strong occupancy gains in 2024. We are expecting an improvement in our Atlanta portfolio in the second half of the year as delinquency related occupancy pressure subsides and the supply demand dynamic and imbalance improves. Turning to renovations. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:09:06We completed about 500 full renovations in 2024 at an average cost of $17,000 per unit, achieving an average renovation ROI of approximately 17%. In 2025, we expect to complete another 500 full renovations at similar costs per unit, yielding a targeted 17% ROI. For our renovation program, we are targeting communities that have the greatest potential for outsized rent growth and maintain flexibility to adjust the pace of renovations as market demand shifts. Lastly, I'll speak to our operating initiatives. In 2024, we captured approximately $1,800,000 of additional NOI growth from these initiatives, which is in line with expectations that we communicated at the start of the year. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:09:53In 2025, we expect to capture $1,800,000 of additional cumulative growth, which will mark the achievement of our three year target of $4,250,000 to $4,750,000 announced in early twenty twenty three. Beyond our three year target, we are in the process of rolling out managed Wi Fi and expect to capture $300,000 to $600,000 of additional NOI in 2025 from Phase one of our initiative, which includes seven communities. Looking forward, once Phase one of our managed Wi Fi initiative has been fully integrated into our lease role, which we expect to occur in mid-twenty twenty six, we expect to capture approximately 1,000,000 to 1,500,000.0 of additional NOI per year with further upside from future phases. And with that, I'll turn it over to Steve to cover our 2025 outlook. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:10:39Thanks, Tiffany. Turning to our 2025 guidance and related assumptions. We expect same store multifamily revenue growth to range from 2.1% to 3.6% in 2025. Embedded revenue growth or the growth that has already been captured based on 2024 leasing was about 70 basis points at the start of the year and 80 basis points at the January. The building blocks that add up to the midpoint of our guidance range include approximately 1% of rent growth, driven primarily by our Washington Metro portfolio, 0.7% of growth in fee income from our operational initiatives, approximately 25 basis points of bad debt improvement and approximately 20 basis points of occupancy growth. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:11:30Moving on to expenses. Same store operating expenses are projected to range from 2.75% to 4.25% for the year. Non controllable expenses are projected to grow 2% to 3% and controllable expenses are projected to grow between 45%, which includes technology expenses related to our managed Wi Fi and other ROI initiatives. Watergate six hundred NOI is expected to range from $11,500,000 to $12,250,000 representing a decline of approximately 6% at the midpoint due to an anticipated decline in occupancy over the course of the year and higher utility expenses. We expect occupancy to end the year between 8182%, representing a decline of approximately 3% compared to current occupancy of 84.7%. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:12:27While the sale of Watergate 600 is not included in our guidance, we continue to look to opportunistically monetize the property. Interest expense is expected to range from $37,350,000 to $38,350,000 for the year. In December, we executed the first of two one year extension options on our January term loan, which is now set to expire in January 2026, and we have no other debt maturing before 2028. Our balance sheet remains in very good shape with annualized adjusted net debt to EBITDA of 5.7 times during the fourth quarter, over 60% of our total capacity available on our line of credit and no secured debt. Turning to core FFO, the drivers of our 2025 core FFO per share at the midpoint include $0.04 of growth from our same store multifamily portfolio offset in part by $0.01 decline from Watergate six hundred, zero point zero one dollars decline from higher G and A and $0.05 decline from other items. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:13:35And with that, I'll turn it back to Paul. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:13:39To wrap it up, our twenty twenty five outlook reflects another good year of performance from our Washington Metro portfolio and improving trends in Atlanta. Across Elm submarkets in the DMV, strong supplydemand dynamics and limited value oriented housing options create a favorable leasing environment. In Atlanta, we anticipate a gradual improvement in market dynamics paving the way for a strong 2026. Before turning to Q and A, we'd like to reiterate that we do not have any additional information or updates to provide at this time regarding the strategic review beyond the information we've already provided. Therefore, we request that you focus your questions on our results, business initiatives and outlook. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:14:31We appreciate your cooperation. And now operator, I'd like to open it up for questions. Operator00:14:40Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting our question and answer session. You. Thank you. Our first question is coming from Anthony Paolone with JPMorgan. Operator00:15:18Your line is live. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:15:20Great. Thank you. Good morning. I guess my first question revolves around just the potential impact of what's happening with the new administration in your market. You all have been effectively a pure play in that market for a long, long time. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:15:35And there have been sort of changes in different agencies moving people and doing things of that nature. Like what's been the experience in the past when there is, say, a big change in the government near a property? Like is there a way to put some brackets around how that has affected leasing or rents? Any anecdotes there would be helpful. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:16:01Tony, it's Paul. Let's go back to and just in terms of regional impacts, I think the last event we probably would have had would have been sequestration and that had a tremendous impact on the industry just in terms of really kind of paralyzing some of the progress, some of the leasing, some of the growth, but I would say we're in a different time now. The federal government probably back then really was probably the central engine that drove our economy. I think now technology has really taken over and we really are seeing still tremendous amount of growth, especially in the Northern Virginia, where the bulk of our residential portfolio in the DMV is located. I think what is what's obviously different about this time is there doesn't there appears to be a macro strategy of addressing government expenses, but it seems a little fractured right now moving forward. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:17:14So in terms of we look back as I said in my remarks, we look back at the growth in the private sector. We look where the growth is coming from and it's not coming from the federal government and it really hasn't been coming from the federal government for the last decade. So we're very comfortable and Grant can talk about our resident composition, some of the demographics associated with that. But we feel very comfortable about the businesses that are growing here in the private sector and its respective impact on our residential base. Grant, do you want to add any more color to that? Grant MontgomeryVice President - Research at Elme Communities00:17:53Sure. Just speaking generally, just to reiterate what was in the script and is in Slide 11 that we referred to is that, if you look at non DoD federal jobs in the Washington region, our exposure is about 6.2%. And if you drill down to any single agency, we're sub 1% for any single agency. And so these were many times we're talking one, two, three, four, five people, sort of the typical exposure to any single agency, once you get outside the Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:18:32Okay. Thank you for that. And then just my follow-up question, can you give us any update or thoughts on where market cap rates might be for the types of assets typically in your buy box? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:18:47Tony, again, it's Paul. Just start off and kind of give you some macro observations on what we're seeing in the capital markets. For core deals, we're really seeing buyers today's buyer kind of looking for that 9% to 11% IRR and that's translating into a 4.5% to a 5% cap. For core plus deals, we're seeing ranging in that 4.75% to 5.25%. Again, depending on the type of leverage folks shooting for an 11% to a 13% IRR. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:19:21And then value add, it more in that 5% to 5.5 space, we've seen it go up to a six or even a touch higher depending on the vintage of the product with those buyers looking for leverage 13 to 15. For our type of product, we think we're in that value add space. And so we feel very comfortable about the strength of our portfolio moving forward. When we look around at the markets right now and the reason why we're optimistic about this year, there's just a tremendous amount of liquidity in the debt markets. The GSEs, both Fannie and Freddie both have $73,000,000,000 in allocations for a total of $146,000,000,000 Definitely seeing a pickup in the bridge market, especially on lease up deals and life companies are back and they're being pretty aggressive on those 50% to 55% LTV deals. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:20:28A lot of seller, a lot of private equity sales coming to the market. We're seeing a tremendous amount of BOVs being conducted in this region, some merchant builders, but I think the larger PE firms that are looking at maybe opportunistically redeploying other capital and other asset classes and geographies. The other thing I'd note Tony is we're definitely seeing bigger deals are coming back now. I think late $22,000,000 20 3 million dollars and last year particularly a lot of in that $40,000,000 to $75,000,000 space. Even the deals we've seen come out since January 1, a couple of deals over $100,000,000 So people are definitely moving to the aisle and a number of the originators that we talk to really a term they use just about getting out and getting in front of the market. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:21:24The buying, we've just seen buyers all across the spectrum. And I think our big macro takeaway from this is we're continuing to see a tremendous amount of capital flow into the living sector in general. And so we think that I think the numbers I saw 2024, we saw about 137,000,000,000 being done in transaction volume. This year, I think the numbers people are forecasting are more towards like $150,000,000,000 So another big year ahead. We think there are going to be a lot of recaps coming before some of these liquidations. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:22:04But I would tell you even going back to our what we feel was a good acquisition of Druid Hills, the discount to replacement costs are shrinking. And that was a key element for us and we think they're going to continue to decline as the year progresses. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:22:28Okay. Great context. Thank you. Operator00:22:33Thank you. Our next question is coming from Jamie Feldman with Wells Fargo. Your line is live. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:22:41Great. Thank you and good morning. Just a couple of follow ups with some of the comments you made on the call. I guess to start, you mentioned your lease rates through the year. Can you talk about your view on seasonality? Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:22:55I mean, it just seems like there's a lot of moving pieces in the DC market this year. Do you think you'll see acceleration into 2Q, 3Q and then drop off? Are you thinking things get better into 4Q? So can you maybe talk through your outlook for new leases and blends? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:11Yes, Jamie. Absolutely, Jamie. This is Tiffany Butcher. Happy to walk through that. I would say, if you are looking at just the Washington D. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:20C. Portfolio, we are expecting another normal year of seasonal growth in the Washington D. C. Area with obviously peak leasing occurring during our spring and summer leasing season. In Atlanta, we expect to see gradual improvement throughout the year as we continue to see improvement in the supply demand dynamics in that market. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:46If you want to look at the portfolio as a whole, we're projecting our newbie straight growth to be between a decline of 2% and a positive 0.5% for the full year. We expect renewal lease rate growth of between 3% to 5.25%. Renewal lease rate growth continues to be a strong driver of growth for us. And then blended lease rate growth, we're projecting between 1.253% for the portfolio overall. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:24:21Okay. Thank you for that. And then I guess just thinking about your outlook for the year, I mean, are you on hold now trying to sell assets, move into other markets, Watergate, is that on hold? Or are you guys just going to kind of continue with the plan you have and just the strategic review is more of a sideshow? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:24:48Well, Jamie, I mean, we put out our 2025 guidance, so all of the underlying assumptions are in there. And then as far as our operations go, we are in terms of you mentioned expansion markets, I think what we are most focused on is being is getting the best performance we can out of the assets that we currently own right now. And Tiffany and her team are doing an outstanding job in terms of the new initiatives, the renovations, other capital allocations that we think are going to be accretive for our shareholders, as we we want to keep our eye on the ball day to day, and all of the operations that we have throughout the company as we undergo this strategic review process. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:25:46Okay. And then I guess thinking specifically about Watergate, I think we're getting a little more optimistic you get some leasing done there. I think the Kennedy Center was out there as a potential option. Obviously, a lot of change going on there. Can you update us on conversations around the Kennedy Center specifically or just your leasing prospects there? Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:26:07And then I know you include a $0.01 drag in guidance for operating that for the full year. If you were to sell it, do you think that takes your numbers up or down further? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:17Well, I think just right now, I mean, we have good wealth on the property, and I think there's a Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:26lot Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:26of good activity. We've had in place renewals that took place in 2024. As I mentioned, I believe on the last call, we are in discussions with our largest tenant that is a '27 exploration and we feel good about the prospects there. And we're also in discussions with some of the smaller tenants for renewal in place and obviously better for us, better from a TI standpoint, from a free rent standpoint. So collectively, I think overall, we're feeling good. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:27:06Concurrently though, Tony, I mean, excuse me, Jamie, as we've said in the past, we will be opportunistic as we look at the capital markets. I would say not only has the DC market improved in terms of the type of activity that we're seeing in the marketplace from a leasing standpoint with tenants, the thaw seemed to take place in 2024. And so we're definitely seeing more activity now. I think even more, another arrow in the quiver for a buyer is the liquidity in the debt markets and we're actually seeing CMBS deals done on office product downtown. So we feel like the environment is coming towards us. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:27:57We feel like we have some headwinds now instead of some tailwinds instead of headwinds. And so we're going to try to be opportunistic, but we've got a job to do at Watergate and that is to get it to the highest leasing percentage we can get and we're going to continue on that path. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:28:16Okay. But I guess, so if you were to sell it, you think that's accretive or dilutive to earnings? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:28:23I'm not going to speculate on the type of pricing that we're going to get, Jamie. Right now, we haven't really tested the market. So, we'll both move forward and hopefully we can have something positive to say in future calls. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:28:41Okay. And then I mean I know you said not to talk about the strategic review, but I guess this would have been a question even before you announced this. Can you talk about the frictional costs if you were to sell the company, whether there's taxes that people need to factor into NAVs or comp or just any other pieces because I think the market naturally goes to like here's the NAV, but then there's always a drag on that. Can you just talk through some of those moving pieces? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:29:09Jamie, what I can say first off, thank you for the thoughtful question. What I can say is the Board and the management team are committed to acting in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. There's no timetable or deadline set for the completion of this board led strategic review. We'll provide an update if and when appropriate, but beyond the information in our release, we don't have any information to share or updates beyond that to provide at this time. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:41Okay. So you can't get into the frictional costs? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:29:45That's correct, Jamie. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:47Got it. Okay. And then just final question then. You talked about your composition of jobs in the portfolio. I think you said for two thirds. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:57If you were to just take a guess at the remaining one third, would the numbers be pretty similar? Or is there something different we should be thinking about in terms of the employers? Grant MontgomeryVice President - Research at Elme Communities00:30:07Jamie, this is Grant. I think you could extrapolate that out and say the composition would be similar. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:30:14Okay. All right, great. Thanks and good luck with everything. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:30:17Thank you, Jamie. Operator00:30:21Thank you. Our next question is coming from John Pawlowski with Green Street. Your line is live. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:30:29Good morning. Thanks for the time. Just a question with Tiffany. I mean, your points are well taken on why you see more insulated from potential shocks of federal employment. I'm just curious like on the ground and the considerable uncertainty, forget job losses and potential job losses, but the uncertainty swirling around the tenant base. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:30:51Pick your favorite leading indicator of foot traffic, closing rates on tours. Are you seeing any kind of leading indicators to suggest that the uncertainty around employment is leading to a pause in leasing decisions and tenants in the market? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:31:07John, thanks for the question. Year to date, we are seeing very normal seasonal leasing trends. We have not seen any atypical impacts on traffic or leasing across any of our key metrics. The outlook overall for the DMV in terms of supply demand dynamics remains incredibly strong. And we think that our mid market rent positions us well as Class B demand trends tend to be more consistent relative to other asset classes. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:31:36We'll obviously, we continue to monitor all of the new developments very closely. We'll have to see how it plays out over the next few months. But based on what we're seeing on the ground today and our Class B position, we think we are positioned well to have another good year in the DMV. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:31:53Okay. And then last one for me. The Atlanta same store, the sequential growth rate was quite high. I know a few properties can really move the needle, but was this a function of bad debt improvement and volatility and bad debt? I think there was about 6% sequential growth in Atlanta this quarter. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:32:11Any color there would be helpful. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:32:14Yes, John, this is Steve. And you're right for about half of it. So we had 6% sequentially Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:32:20and about half of it was an improvement in bad debt that we saw in the quarter in Atlanta. The other portion of it was a business interruption insurance proceeds from a property down there that had a fire earlier in 2024. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:32:39Okay. Thank you for the time. Operator00:32:42Thank Operator00:32:48you. Our next question is coming from Cole Bardo with Wolfe Research. Your line is live. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:32:58Hey guys, thank you very much for the time. I just had one question on occupancy in D. C. You mentioned it was going to be more of a normalized year. Are you expecting any occupancy erosion this year in 2025? Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:33:10Or are you kind of expecting it to hold relatively flat? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:33:14Yes. Obviously, we had a very strong year of occupancy in the D and V last year being in the 96% range and we expect the D and V to remain in that 96% range next year. And then we obviously are expecting a gradual improvement in occupancy in Atlanta. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:33:33Okay, got it. And then just one more, because I noticed in DC, Maryland, you had some pretty high property operating expenses this quarter. I was just curious, are there any big drivers for that? Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:33:47Yes. So, Cole, in DC in the fourth quarter, so Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:33:52on the property for non controllables that we saw in D. C. And it's on the utility side is we saw a couple of true ups at some properties that hit in the fourth quarter and really drove that in the DMV. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:34:09Okay, awesome. Thank you. Operator00:34:15Thank you. As we have no further questions in line at this time, I will hand the call back over to Mr. McDermott for any closing remarks. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:34:26Yes. We'd like to thank everyone for their time today and we're looking forward to seeing many of you and talking to you in person over the coming weeks. Thank you everyone. Operator00:34:40Thank you. This does conclude today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time and we thank you for your participation.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesAmy HopkinsVice President, Investor RelationsPaul McDermottPresident and CEOTiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COOSteven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFOGrant MontgomeryVice President - ResearchAnalystsAnthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. MorganJamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells FargoJohn PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLCCole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLCPowered by Conference Call Audio Live Call not available Earnings Conference CallElme Communities Q4 202400:00 / 00:00Speed:1x1.25x1.5x2xTranscript SectionsPresentationParticipants Earnings DocumentsSlide DeckPress Release(8-K)Annual report(10-K) Elme Communities Earnings HeadlinesElme Communities Announces First Quarter Earnings Release and Conference CallApril 7, 2025 | gurufocus.comElme Communities to Release First Quarter 2025 Results on Thursday, May 1stApril 7, 2025 | globenewswire.comThe Trump Dump is starting; Get out of stocks now?The first 365 days of the Trump presidency… Will be the best time to get rich in American history.April 27, 2025 | Paradigm Press (Ad)J.P. Morgan Remains a Hold on Elme Communities (ELME)April 5, 2025 | markets.businessinsider.comWhy Elme Communities Is A Buy At The Right PriceApril 4, 2025 | seekingalpha.comElme Communities Appoints Ron D. Sturzenegger to Board of TrusteesMarch 19, 2025 | quiverquant.comSee More Elme Communities Headlines Get Earnings Announcements in your inboxWant to stay updated on the latest earnings announcements and upcoming reports for companies like Elme Communities? Sign up for Earnings360's daily newsletter to receive timely earnings updates on Elme Communities and other key companies, straight to your email. Email Address About Elme CommunitiesElme Communities (NYSE:ELME) is committed to elevating what home can be for middle-income renters by providing a higher level of quality, service, and experience. The Company is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns and operates approximately 9,400 apartment homes in the Washington, DC metro and the Atlanta metro regions, and owns approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space. Focused on providing quality, affordable homes to a deep, solid, and underserved base of mid-market demand, Elme Communities is building long-term value for shareholders.View Elme Communities ProfileRead more More Earnings Resources from MarketBeat Earnings Tools Today's Earnings Tomorrow's Earnings Next Week's Earnings Upcoming Earnings Calls Earnings Newsletter Earnings Call Transcripts Earnings Beats & Misses Corporate Guidance Earnings Screener Earnings By Country U.S. Earnings Reports Canadian Earnings Reports U.K. Earnings Reports Latest Articles Markets Think Robinhood Earnings Could Send the Stock UpIs the Floor in for Lam Research After Bullish Earnings?Market Anticipation Builds: Joby Stock Climbs Ahead of EarningsIs Intuitive Surgical a Buy After Volatile Reaction to Earnings?Seismic Shift at Intel: Massive Layoffs Precede Crucial EarningsRocket Lab Lands New Contract, Builds Momentum Ahead of EarningsAmazon's Earnings Could Fuel a Rapid Breakout Upcoming Earnings Cadence Design Systems (4/28/2025)Welltower (4/28/2025)Waste Management (4/28/2025)AstraZeneca (4/29/2025)Mondelez International (4/29/2025)PayPal (4/29/2025)Starbucks (4/29/2025)DoorDash (4/29/2025)Honeywell International (4/29/2025)Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (4/29/2025) Get 30 Days of MarketBeat All Access for Free Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools. Start Your 30-Day Trial MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
PresentationSkip to Participants Operator00:00:00Good day, and welcome to the Elm Communities Fourth Quarter twenty twenty four Earnings Conference Call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. And at this time, I would like to turn the call over to your host, Amy Hopkins, Vice President, Investor Relations. Amy, please go ahead. Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:20Good morning, and thank you for joining our fourth quarter earnings call. Today's event is being webcast with a slide presentation that is available on the Investors section of our website and will be available on our webcast replay. Statements made during this call may constitute forward looking statements that involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially, and we undertake no duty to update them as actual events unfold. Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:43We refer to certain Amy HopkinsVice President, Investor Relations at Elme Communities00:00:44of these risks in our SEC filings. Reconciliations of the GAAP and non GAAP financial measures discussed on this call are available in our most recent earnings press release and financial supplement, which was distributed yesterday and can be found on the Investors page of our website. Presenting on the call today will be Paul McDermott, our CEO Tiffany Butcher, our COO and Steve Freistat, our CFO. And with that, I will turn the call over to Paul. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:01:10Thanks, Amy. Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning. I'll start by addressing the announcement we made in conjunction with our earnings release. I will also cover our 2024 achievements and the impact of the new administration's focus on government efficiency. Tiffany will discuss our operating trends and platform initiatives, and Steve will discuss our 2025 outlook. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:01:37Yesterday, we announced that the Elm Board of Trustees has launched a review to evaluate strategic alternatives. This decision is consistent with our commitment to act in the best interest of the company and our shareholders and to focus on maximizing shareholder value. We remain very confident about the long term prospects of our portfolio and the continued success of our value add, renovation pipeline and platform initiatives. However, shares of Elm continues to trade at a discount to our estimate of the company's private market value. While we regularly evaluate credible alternative opportunities to maximize value on behalf of our shareholders, after extensive board led strategic planning, the board has decided that a formal proactive process is appropriate at this time. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:02:31As such, the Elm Board of Trustees has initiated this formal review and retained financial and legal advisors. As is always the case with this type of process, there is no guarantee the review will result in any transaction or specific outcome, and we don't intend to disclose developments unless and until the company determines that disclosure is appropriate or required. While there isn't more we can say about the process at this time, we are confident we are taking the right steps to maximize value for shareholders. For the rest of the call, we will focus on our financial results, other business initiatives and outlook. Turning to 2024 highlights. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:03:19Operationally, it was a significant year as we advanced our multi year platform initiatives. We reached a key milestone with the successful launch of our shared services department, Elm Resident Services, which streamlined our resident account management, collections and renewal processes and improved our operating efficiency. We also launched Phase one of our managed Wi Fi initiative and the related NOI growth will be ramping up throughout 2025. I'm proud of the transformation efforts put in by our teams last year and look forward to continuing to progress our initiatives and platform efficiency this year. Turning to the priorities of the new administration, there has been plenty of speculation, so we'll stick to the facts and what's happening on the ground. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:04:12The Washington Metro is widely recognized for its diverse and growing private sector economy. Approximately 97% of job growth over the last twelve months has been driven by industries other than the federal government. Federal jobs only represent about 11% of regional employment as over 80% of the 2,100,000 civilian positions in the federal government across the country are located outside the DMV. Elm's direct exposure to federal jobs is limited. Of the two thirds of our Washington Metro resident base for whom we have detailed job level data, only 6.2% work at non Department of Defense federal government agencies in the Washington Metro area and 4% work at federal contractors. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:05:06For community level exposure, Slide 11 of our latest investor presentation maps the departments and agencies where we have the highest exposure and provides the concentrations at proximate communities. Overall, our highest direct exposure to non DoD federal government jobs at the community level is in the low double digits. In terms of what we are seeing on the ground, our demand trends across the Washington Metro remain solid and in line with our expectations and seasonal norms. The Washington Metro Area was a top performing market in 2024 and we believe it is positioned for another strong year in 2025. Net inventory ratios remain low and the high cost of housing creates sustained demand for value oriented rental options. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:05:58The region is positioned to continue to thrive, offering a highly skilled workforce, advanced technology infrastructure, an entrepreneurial atmosphere and unmatched global connections. We are confident in the growth prospects of our Washington Metro portfolio and look forward to gaining more clarity soon and keeping you updated during future calls. And with that, I'll turn it over to Tiffany. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:06:25Thanks, Paul. Starting with supplydemand dynamics in our markets. Overall, we are well positioned as we believe Elm submarkets will face less supply pressure than The U. S. And Sunbelt markets generally with projected average annual net inventory growth of 2.2% over the next four quarters, while The U. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:06:44S. And Sunbelt are expected to see 2.84.6% growth respectively. Our DMV portfolio remains very well insulated from new supply with quarterly net inventory ratios averaging 1.7% in Elm submarkets this year below the regional average of 2% based on current expectations. On the demand side, the trends are healthy and stable supported by the limited availability of high quality housing that is affordable to middle income residents. We anticipate another year of favorable supplydemand dynamics in the DMV. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:07:21In Atlanta, we expect to see gradual improvement in the supply dynamics with a more significant improvement in 2026. The weighted average net inventory ratio peaked at 4.3% in the first half of twenty twenty four across our Atlanta submarkets and is expected to remain relatively flat in 2025 compared to the 3.8% in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four. On a positive note, annual absorption has been very strong and is expected to be nearly 40% higher in 2025 compared to 2024 in Elm submarkets, which should help to balance the impact of new deliveries as the year progresses. Turning to operating trends, same store blended lease rate growth averaged 1.3% in the fourth quarter and 1.8% in January for our 2025 same store pool. Same store occupancy averaged 95% during the fourth quarter, up 20 basis points sequentially. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:08:19Retention rates remain above historical levels and our move outs to own remained very low during the fourth quarter at 8.5% as there is limited existing inventory and home ownership remains unaffordable for many middle income renters. On a year to date basis, same store occupancy has trended up slightly, averaging 95.1. We are targeting an average occupancy range of 95% to 95.5% for the year, which reflects a more normalized year in the DMV compared to strong occupancy gains in 2024. We are expecting an improvement in our Atlanta portfolio in the second half of the year as delinquency related occupancy pressure subsides and the supply demand dynamic and imbalance improves. Turning to renovations. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:09:06We completed about 500 full renovations in 2024 at an average cost of $17,000 per unit, achieving an average renovation ROI of approximately 17%. In 2025, we expect to complete another 500 full renovations at similar costs per unit, yielding a targeted 17% ROI. For our renovation program, we are targeting communities that have the greatest potential for outsized rent growth and maintain flexibility to adjust the pace of renovations as market demand shifts. Lastly, I'll speak to our operating initiatives. In 2024, we captured approximately $1,800,000 of additional NOI growth from these initiatives, which is in line with expectations that we communicated at the start of the year. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:09:53In 2025, we expect to capture $1,800,000 of additional cumulative growth, which will mark the achievement of our three year target of $4,250,000 to $4,750,000 announced in early twenty twenty three. Beyond our three year target, we are in the process of rolling out managed Wi Fi and expect to capture $300,000 to $600,000 of additional NOI in 2025 from Phase one of our initiative, which includes seven communities. Looking forward, once Phase one of our managed Wi Fi initiative has been fully integrated into our lease role, which we expect to occur in mid-twenty twenty six, we expect to capture approximately 1,000,000 to 1,500,000.0 of additional NOI per year with further upside from future phases. And with that, I'll turn it over to Steve to cover our 2025 outlook. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:10:39Thanks, Tiffany. Turning to our 2025 guidance and related assumptions. We expect same store multifamily revenue growth to range from 2.1% to 3.6% in 2025. Embedded revenue growth or the growth that has already been captured based on 2024 leasing was about 70 basis points at the start of the year and 80 basis points at the January. The building blocks that add up to the midpoint of our guidance range include approximately 1% of rent growth, driven primarily by our Washington Metro portfolio, 0.7% of growth in fee income from our operational initiatives, approximately 25 basis points of bad debt improvement and approximately 20 basis points of occupancy growth. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:11:30Moving on to expenses. Same store operating expenses are projected to range from 2.75% to 4.25% for the year. Non controllable expenses are projected to grow 2% to 3% and controllable expenses are projected to grow between 45%, which includes technology expenses related to our managed Wi Fi and other ROI initiatives. Watergate six hundred NOI is expected to range from $11,500,000 to $12,250,000 representing a decline of approximately 6% at the midpoint due to an anticipated decline in occupancy over the course of the year and higher utility expenses. We expect occupancy to end the year between 8182%, representing a decline of approximately 3% compared to current occupancy of 84.7%. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:12:27While the sale of Watergate 600 is not included in our guidance, we continue to look to opportunistically monetize the property. Interest expense is expected to range from $37,350,000 to $38,350,000 for the year. In December, we executed the first of two one year extension options on our January term loan, which is now set to expire in January 2026, and we have no other debt maturing before 2028. Our balance sheet remains in very good shape with annualized adjusted net debt to EBITDA of 5.7 times during the fourth quarter, over 60% of our total capacity available on our line of credit and no secured debt. Turning to core FFO, the drivers of our 2025 core FFO per share at the midpoint include $0.04 of growth from our same store multifamily portfolio offset in part by $0.01 decline from Watergate six hundred, zero point zero one dollars decline from higher G and A and $0.05 decline from other items. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:13:35And with that, I'll turn it back to Paul. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:13:39To wrap it up, our twenty twenty five outlook reflects another good year of performance from our Washington Metro portfolio and improving trends in Atlanta. Across Elm submarkets in the DMV, strong supplydemand dynamics and limited value oriented housing options create a favorable leasing environment. In Atlanta, we anticipate a gradual improvement in market dynamics paving the way for a strong 2026. Before turning to Q and A, we'd like to reiterate that we do not have any additional information or updates to provide at this time regarding the strategic review beyond the information we've already provided. Therefore, we request that you focus your questions on our results, business initiatives and outlook. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:14:31We appreciate your cooperation. And now operator, I'd like to open it up for questions. Operator00:14:40Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting our question and answer session. You. Thank you. Our first question is coming from Anthony Paolone with JPMorgan. Operator00:15:18Your line is live. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:15:20Great. Thank you. Good morning. I guess my first question revolves around just the potential impact of what's happening with the new administration in your market. You all have been effectively a pure play in that market for a long, long time. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:15:35And there have been sort of changes in different agencies moving people and doing things of that nature. Like what's been the experience in the past when there is, say, a big change in the government near a property? Like is there a way to put some brackets around how that has affected leasing or rents? Any anecdotes there would be helpful. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:16:01Tony, it's Paul. Let's go back to and just in terms of regional impacts, I think the last event we probably would have had would have been sequestration and that had a tremendous impact on the industry just in terms of really kind of paralyzing some of the progress, some of the leasing, some of the growth, but I would say we're in a different time now. The federal government probably back then really was probably the central engine that drove our economy. I think now technology has really taken over and we really are seeing still tremendous amount of growth, especially in the Northern Virginia, where the bulk of our residential portfolio in the DMV is located. I think what is what's obviously different about this time is there doesn't there appears to be a macro strategy of addressing government expenses, but it seems a little fractured right now moving forward. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:17:14So in terms of we look back as I said in my remarks, we look back at the growth in the private sector. We look where the growth is coming from and it's not coming from the federal government and it really hasn't been coming from the federal government for the last decade. So we're very comfortable and Grant can talk about our resident composition, some of the demographics associated with that. But we feel very comfortable about the businesses that are growing here in the private sector and its respective impact on our residential base. Grant, do you want to add any more color to that? Grant MontgomeryVice President - Research at Elme Communities00:17:53Sure. Just speaking generally, just to reiterate what was in the script and is in Slide 11 that we referred to is that, if you look at non DoD federal jobs in the Washington region, our exposure is about 6.2%. And if you drill down to any single agency, we're sub 1% for any single agency. And so these were many times we're talking one, two, three, four, five people, sort of the typical exposure to any single agency, once you get outside the Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:18:32Okay. Thank you for that. And then just my follow-up question, can you give us any update or thoughts on where market cap rates might be for the types of assets typically in your buy box? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:18:47Tony, again, it's Paul. Just start off and kind of give you some macro observations on what we're seeing in the capital markets. For core deals, we're really seeing buyers today's buyer kind of looking for that 9% to 11% IRR and that's translating into a 4.5% to a 5% cap. For core plus deals, we're seeing ranging in that 4.75% to 5.25%. Again, depending on the type of leverage folks shooting for an 11% to a 13% IRR. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:19:21And then value add, it more in that 5% to 5.5 space, we've seen it go up to a six or even a touch higher depending on the vintage of the product with those buyers looking for leverage 13 to 15. For our type of product, we think we're in that value add space. And so we feel very comfortable about the strength of our portfolio moving forward. When we look around at the markets right now and the reason why we're optimistic about this year, there's just a tremendous amount of liquidity in the debt markets. The GSEs, both Fannie and Freddie both have $73,000,000,000 in allocations for a total of $146,000,000,000 Definitely seeing a pickup in the bridge market, especially on lease up deals and life companies are back and they're being pretty aggressive on those 50% to 55% LTV deals. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:20:28A lot of seller, a lot of private equity sales coming to the market. We're seeing a tremendous amount of BOVs being conducted in this region, some merchant builders, but I think the larger PE firms that are looking at maybe opportunistically redeploying other capital and other asset classes and geographies. The other thing I'd note Tony is we're definitely seeing bigger deals are coming back now. I think late $22,000,000 20 3 million dollars and last year particularly a lot of in that $40,000,000 to $75,000,000 space. Even the deals we've seen come out since January 1, a couple of deals over $100,000,000 So people are definitely moving to the aisle and a number of the originators that we talk to really a term they use just about getting out and getting in front of the market. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:21:24The buying, we've just seen buyers all across the spectrum. And I think our big macro takeaway from this is we're continuing to see a tremendous amount of capital flow into the living sector in general. And so we think that I think the numbers I saw 2024, we saw about 137,000,000,000 being done in transaction volume. This year, I think the numbers people are forecasting are more towards like $150,000,000,000 So another big year ahead. We think there are going to be a lot of recaps coming before some of these liquidations. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:22:04But I would tell you even going back to our what we feel was a good acquisition of Druid Hills, the discount to replacement costs are shrinking. And that was a key element for us and we think they're going to continue to decline as the year progresses. Anthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. Morgan00:22:28Okay. Great context. Thank you. Operator00:22:33Thank you. Our next question is coming from Jamie Feldman with Wells Fargo. Your line is live. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:22:41Great. Thank you and good morning. Just a couple of follow ups with some of the comments you made on the call. I guess to start, you mentioned your lease rates through the year. Can you talk about your view on seasonality? Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:22:55I mean, it just seems like there's a lot of moving pieces in the DC market this year. Do you think you'll see acceleration into 2Q, 3Q and then drop off? Are you thinking things get better into 4Q? So can you maybe talk through your outlook for new leases and blends? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:11Yes, Jamie. Absolutely, Jamie. This is Tiffany Butcher. Happy to walk through that. I would say, if you are looking at just the Washington D. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:20C. Portfolio, we are expecting another normal year of seasonal growth in the Washington D. C. Area with obviously peak leasing occurring during our spring and summer leasing season. In Atlanta, we expect to see gradual improvement throughout the year as we continue to see improvement in the supply demand dynamics in that market. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:23:46If you want to look at the portfolio as a whole, we're projecting our newbie straight growth to be between a decline of 2% and a positive 0.5% for the full year. We expect renewal lease rate growth of between 3% to 5.25%. Renewal lease rate growth continues to be a strong driver of growth for us. And then blended lease rate growth, we're projecting between 1.253% for the portfolio overall. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:24:21Okay. Thank you for that. And then I guess just thinking about your outlook for the year, I mean, are you on hold now trying to sell assets, move into other markets, Watergate, is that on hold? Or are you guys just going to kind of continue with the plan you have and just the strategic review is more of a sideshow? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:24:48Well, Jamie, I mean, we put out our 2025 guidance, so all of the underlying assumptions are in there. And then as far as our operations go, we are in terms of you mentioned expansion markets, I think what we are most focused on is being is getting the best performance we can out of the assets that we currently own right now. And Tiffany and her team are doing an outstanding job in terms of the new initiatives, the renovations, other capital allocations that we think are going to be accretive for our shareholders, as we we want to keep our eye on the ball day to day, and all of the operations that we have throughout the company as we undergo this strategic review process. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:25:46Okay. And then I guess thinking specifically about Watergate, I think we're getting a little more optimistic you get some leasing done there. I think the Kennedy Center was out there as a potential option. Obviously, a lot of change going on there. Can you update us on conversations around the Kennedy Center specifically or just your leasing prospects there? Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:26:07And then I know you include a $0.01 drag in guidance for operating that for the full year. If you were to sell it, do you think that takes your numbers up or down further? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:17Well, I think just right now, I mean, we have good wealth on the property, and I think there's a Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:26lot Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:26:26of good activity. We've had in place renewals that took place in 2024. As I mentioned, I believe on the last call, we are in discussions with our largest tenant that is a '27 exploration and we feel good about the prospects there. And we're also in discussions with some of the smaller tenants for renewal in place and obviously better for us, better from a TI standpoint, from a free rent standpoint. So collectively, I think overall, we're feeling good. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:27:06Concurrently though, Tony, I mean, excuse me, Jamie, as we've said in the past, we will be opportunistic as we look at the capital markets. I would say not only has the DC market improved in terms of the type of activity that we're seeing in the marketplace from a leasing standpoint with tenants, the thaw seemed to take place in 2024. And so we're definitely seeing more activity now. I think even more, another arrow in the quiver for a buyer is the liquidity in the debt markets and we're actually seeing CMBS deals done on office product downtown. So we feel like the environment is coming towards us. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:27:57We feel like we have some headwinds now instead of some tailwinds instead of headwinds. And so we're going to try to be opportunistic, but we've got a job to do at Watergate and that is to get it to the highest leasing percentage we can get and we're going to continue on that path. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:28:16Okay. But I guess, so if you were to sell it, you think that's accretive or dilutive to earnings? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:28:23I'm not going to speculate on the type of pricing that we're going to get, Jamie. Right now, we haven't really tested the market. So, we'll both move forward and hopefully we can have something positive to say in future calls. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:28:41Okay. And then I mean I know you said not to talk about the strategic review, but I guess this would have been a question even before you announced this. Can you talk about the frictional costs if you were to sell the company, whether there's taxes that people need to factor into NAVs or comp or just any other pieces because I think the market naturally goes to like here's the NAV, but then there's always a drag on that. Can you just talk through some of those moving pieces? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:29:09Jamie, what I can say first off, thank you for the thoughtful question. What I can say is the Board and the management team are committed to acting in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. There's no timetable or deadline set for the completion of this board led strategic review. We'll provide an update if and when appropriate, but beyond the information in our release, we don't have any information to share or updates beyond that to provide at this time. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:41Okay. So you can't get into the frictional costs? Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:29:45That's correct, Jamie. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:47Got it. Okay. And then just final question then. You talked about your composition of jobs in the portfolio. I think you said for two thirds. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:29:57If you were to just take a guess at the remaining one third, would the numbers be pretty similar? Or is there something different we should be thinking about in terms of the employers? Grant MontgomeryVice President - Research at Elme Communities00:30:07Jamie, this is Grant. I think you could extrapolate that out and say the composition would be similar. Jamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells Fargo00:30:14Okay. All right, great. Thanks and good luck with everything. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:30:17Thank you, Jamie. Operator00:30:21Thank you. Our next question is coming from John Pawlowski with Green Street. Your line is live. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:30:29Good morning. Thanks for the time. Just a question with Tiffany. I mean, your points are well taken on why you see more insulated from potential shocks of federal employment. I'm just curious like on the ground and the considerable uncertainty, forget job losses and potential job losses, but the uncertainty swirling around the tenant base. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:30:51Pick your favorite leading indicator of foot traffic, closing rates on tours. Are you seeing any kind of leading indicators to suggest that the uncertainty around employment is leading to a pause in leasing decisions and tenants in the market? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:31:07John, thanks for the question. Year to date, we are seeing very normal seasonal leasing trends. We have not seen any atypical impacts on traffic or leasing across any of our key metrics. The outlook overall for the DMV in terms of supply demand dynamics remains incredibly strong. And we think that our mid market rent positions us well as Class B demand trends tend to be more consistent relative to other asset classes. Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:31:36We'll obviously, we continue to monitor all of the new developments very closely. We'll have to see how it plays out over the next few months. But based on what we're seeing on the ground today and our Class B position, we think we are positioned well to have another good year in the DMV. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:31:53Okay. And then last one for me. The Atlanta same store, the sequential growth rate was quite high. I know a few properties can really move the needle, but was this a function of bad debt improvement and volatility and bad debt? I think there was about 6% sequential growth in Atlanta this quarter. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:32:11Any color there would be helpful. Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:32:14Yes, John, this is Steve. And you're right for about half of it. So we had 6% sequentially Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:32:20and about half of it was an improvement in bad debt that we saw in the quarter in Atlanta. The other portion of it was a business interruption insurance proceeds from a property down there that had a fire earlier in 2024. John PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLC00:32:39Okay. Thank you for the time. Operator00:32:42Thank Operator00:32:48you. Our next question is coming from Cole Bardo with Wolfe Research. Your line is live. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:32:58Hey guys, thank you very much for the time. I just had one question on occupancy in D. C. You mentioned it was going to be more of a normalized year. Are you expecting any occupancy erosion this year in 2025? Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:33:10Or are you kind of expecting it to hold relatively flat? Tiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COO at Elme Communities00:33:14Yes. Obviously, we had a very strong year of occupancy in the D and V last year being in the 96% range and we expect the D and V to remain in that 96% range next year. And then we obviously are expecting a gradual improvement in occupancy in Atlanta. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:33:33Okay, got it. And then just one more, because I noticed in DC, Maryland, you had some pretty high property operating expenses this quarter. I was just curious, are there any big drivers for that? Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:33:47Yes. So, Cole, in DC in the fourth quarter, so Steven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFO at Elme Communities00:33:52on the property for non controllables that we saw in D. C. And it's on the utility side is we saw a couple of true ups at some properties that hit in the fourth quarter and really drove that in the DMV. Cole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLC00:34:09Okay, awesome. Thank you. Operator00:34:15Thank you. As we have no further questions in line at this time, I will hand the call back over to Mr. McDermott for any closing remarks. Paul McDermottPresident and CEO at Elme Communities00:34:26Yes. We'd like to thank everyone for their time today and we're looking forward to seeing many of you and talking to you in person over the coming weeks. Thank you everyone. Operator00:34:40Thank you. This does conclude today's conference and you may disconnect your lines at this time and we thank you for your participation.Read moreParticipantsExecutivesAmy HopkinsVice President, Investor RelationsPaul McDermottPresident and CEOTiffany ButcherExecutive VP & COOSteven FreishtatExecutive VP & CFOGrant MontgomeryVice President - ResearchAnalystsAnthony PaoloneExecutive Director at J.P. MorganJamie FeldmanManaging Director, Head of REIT Research at Wells FargoJohn PawlowskiManaging Director at Green Street Advisors, LLCCole BardawillEquity Research Senior Associate at Wolfe Research, LLCPowered by