Dave Bragg, CFO at UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), joined the REIT Report podcast to discuss the multifamily REIT’s decision to adopt a monthly dividend, its strategic focus on operational excellence, and the current state of the multifamily real estate market.
Bragg noted that adopting a monthly dividend reflects the REIT’s efforts to seek new and different sources of capital, including individual investors. Through a range of education efforts, UDR is looking to showcase its “50-year history of about $9 billion of dividends paid,” and a healthy dividend yield today that has been characterized by “stability and growth over time.”
UDR is also increasingly applying a data-driven approach to capital allocation, according to Bragg. “It's a very collaborative process that has informed our dispositions and our share buybacks, which have been a focus so far this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bragg highlighted the record low turnover across UDR’s portfolio, with about 40% of residents leaving each year compared with above 50% a decade ago. About 5% of residents today are leaving to buy a home, he also noted, versus a long-term average of 10%-15%. “Apartments are more attractive than they have ever been relative to home ownership over the past 25 years or so,” Bragg said.