Sam Landy, president and CEO of UMH Properties (NYSE: UMH), participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2018 Investor Conference in New York.
Landy said one of the reasons UMH Properties has had such strong results is because the company is able to provide housing to the increasing number of people moving to their markets for job opportunities.
“We’re predominantly workforce housing, and [in] Indiana, Ohio [and] Western Pennsylvania, the job market’s growing,” Landy said.
During the last five years, the company has averaged 1,000 units per year in acquisitions. Landy hopes it can continue at that pace. “On the development front, we own 1,600 vacant acres of land, which can potentially be 6,400 home sites,” he said. UMH has about 350 lots approved to build in 2018, and 350 lots a year for the next three years after that.
Landy noted that the manufacturers he works with have been improving their products every year. As a result, the cumulative improvement of vinyl-sided shingle roofs and energy-efficient homes, “is just tremendous,” he said. With costs low and quality high, UMH Properties can rent 1,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes for $8,000 per year.
“A person can have a $50,000 per year household income and live in virtually any house we provide,” Landy said. “It’s an incredibly affordable, high-quality housing product.”