UMH Highlights Solid Q2 Performance, Expands in Maryland Market

UMH Properties, Inc. UMH, a REIT focused on manufactured home communities, recently provided its second-quarter operating update, which reflected healthy performance, driven by rental home conversions, rising occupancy and higher rental income. 

The REIT converted 188 new homes from inventory to revenue-generating rental units during the quarter, bringing its total to 10,600 rental homes with a strong 94.4% occupancy rate. Same-property occupancy increased to 88.2%, marking a year-over-year gain of 251 units. 

So far in the year, UMH has transitioned 305 homes from inventory into revenue-generating rental units. CEO Samuel A. Landy reaffirmed confidence in reaching the company’s full-year goal of 800 new rental homes, with more than 500 new homes already in the setup pipeline.

UMH also achieved $10.3 million in gross home sales revenues for the quarter, up 17% from last year, setting a new quarterly sales record. These metrics highlight the success of UMH’s rental home program in tapping into sustained demand for affordable housing.

UMH’s Refinancing Efforts

A major highlight of the quarter was the refinancing of ten communities through UMH’s Fannie Mae credit facility. These properties, appraised at $163.5 million, generated $101.4 million in proceeds at a fixed interest rate of 5.855%. The refinancing revealed a substantial 146% appreciation from UMH’s $66.6 million investment. 

In addition, the refinancing yielded around $56 million in excess proceeds over the outstanding principal, which UMH can strategically reinvest in its rental home program, expansions, capital upgrades and future acquisitions, enhancing its portfolio's long-term value. UMH is actively pursuing refinancing opportunities for the remaining mortgage maturities scheduled in 2025.

UMH’s Recent Acquisitions

In line with its growth strategy, UMH acquired two manufactured home communities in Conowingo, MD — Conowingo Court and Maybelle Manor — for $14.625 million. These properties add 191 developed homesites and border UMH’s existing Cinnamon Woods community, enabling operational synergies. 

Maybelle Manor is fully occupied and features high-quality, multi-section homes, while Conowingo Court offers value-add potential, with room for increased occupancy and property upgrades. The acquisitions bring UMH’s total year-to-date community purchases to four, representing 457 sites for $39.2 million.

End Note on UMH

UMH Properties’ second-quarter performance reaffirms the strength of its rental home strategy and disciplined capital deployment. With rising occupancy, record home sales and smart refinancing that unlocks hidden asset value, UMH is executing a well-balanced plan for scalable, long-term growth. However, elevated supply, macroeconomic uncertainty and policy changes remain concerns.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have rallied 6.3% in the past year against the industry's decline of 1.3%.

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Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the residential REIT sector are Veris Residential, Inc. VRE and Elme Communities ELME, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Veris Residential’s 2025 FFO per share has been revised upward over the past month to 62 cents, suggesting 3.3% year-over-year growth, respectively. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Elme Communities’ current-year FFO per share of 95 cents indicates a 1.1% year-over-year increase, backed by 2.8% growth in revenues. 

Note: Anything related to earnings presented in this write-up represents funds from operations (FFO), a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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