Sam Landy, president and CEO of UMH Properties, Inc. (NYSE: UMH), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2023 Investor Conference, held in New York June 6-8.
Landy said there is between a 4–6-million-unit shortage in affordable housing in the U.S., and that UMH uses a unique formula to tackle the issue.
“Factory-built homes cost about $60, $70 per square foot, which is much less than the cost of building a house onsite,” he said. “We [also use] a rental model. So people earning just $40,000 per year will need one month rent and one month security…to qualify, and they can rent [a UMH] house.”
Landy recently received an honorary doctorate degree from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. He discussed why education is so important to UMH’s values and how it helped lift his father out of poverty.
“[After founding Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation], he brought people together to achieve the goal of solving affordable housing,” he said.
Reflecting on the residential sector, Landy said that despite what’s going on with interest rates, the housing shortage means that other companies will likely be charging increased housing prices this year.