Sam Landy, president and CEO of UMH Properties Inc. (NYSE: UMH), joined REIT.com for a video interview at REITWeek 2017: NAREIT’s Investor Forum at the New York Hilton Midtown.
UMH owns and operates manufactured housing communities in eight states.
Landy discussed UMH’s outlook for acquisitions in the residential market. He noted that the company doesn’t have any more new acquisitions under contract at the moment. UMH took advantage of distress in the market to grow through favorable deals to acquire properties, but competition for residential assets has ramped up, according to Landy.
“We’re not sure that we’ll find that kind of growth through acquisitions ever again,” he said.
Landy said the company is seeing strength in demand for manufactured housing in markets such as Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He also said Nashville has been a bright spot in UMH’s portfolio. Western New York is the only area of weakness for the company, according to Landy.
In terms of concerns, Landy noted that while projected rental activity is solid, the company is trying to boost its sales of manufactured homes. Some potential regulatory and public policy developments offer signs of hope in that regard, according to Landy.
“That’s an area where we have the possibility of substantially growing income,” he said.