Jay Sugarman, CEO of Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITworld: 2021 Annual Conference.
Sugarman discussed how Safehold closed more than $300 million of ground lease business during the third quarter of 2021, bringing the REIT’s portfolio to $4 billion.
“We’re seeing a lot of repeat customer business...we’ve seen the multi-family sector really pick up [and] we’re breaking into markets like Miami, Seattle, Nashville [and] Austin,” he noted.
Turning to Safehold’s commitment to green and LEED certified properties, Sugarman emphasized the importance of retaining natural resources like water and energy, a philosophy that has ultimately resulted in approximately 30% of the REIT’s portfolio being green/LEED certified.
“As a long-term investor, we’re very focused on the future and making it as safe and productive as possible,” he added.
Sugarman said that when in discussions with shareholders, he emphasizes that ground lease owners are entitled to everything on top of their land at the end of their leases. Safehold tracks this value each quarter and in Q3 2021 said the value of the buildings on top of their land stood at $6.7 billion.
“It’s our job to demonstrate to [our shareholders] why that’s such a valuable thing,” Sugarman said.