Camden Property Trust Q1 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Eric Wolfe - Citi - Analyst : Hi, thanks. You mentioned that you're maintaining your same-store guidance given the recent macro uncertainty. I'm just curious, if there wasn't that uncertainty, and we were more in like an environment like we were last year or maybe earlier this year when you gave guidance, would you have raised your same-store revenue? Would you've lowered same-store expense? Just trying to see like what -- how the environment is impacting your guidance specifically. Thanks.

Question: Eric Wolfe - Citi - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: James Feldman - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Great. Thank you. Can you talk about which of your Sunbelt markets you're seeing quicker stabilization of deliveries where new leases could turn positive as we enter peak leasing? And then in the opposite side, where do you think you'll see the biggest drag, whether it's Austin, Nashville, Raleigh or some of the more pressured? But just trying to get an update on when things could turn positive across the more challenged markets. Thank you.

Question: James Feldman - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Okay. Thanks for that. And then, I guess, along the same lines, do you have a sense of what you're expecting for new and renewal leases in the second quarter given some of these tightening up?

Question: Brad Heffern - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yes. Thanks. Good morning. Can you give your perspective on DC and DOGE? Are you seeing anything on the ground right now? And do you expect to at some point? And when might that be?

Question: Brad Heffern - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Thank you.

Question: Steve Sakwa - Evercore ISI - Analyst : Yes. Thanks. So Ric, I guess I wanted to follow up on your comment about the developments. And I know you're being a bit careful on the starts. But how are you underwriting construction costs today? And what are you sort of putting in for tariff impacts on that part of the development that's being impacted? And what adjustments, if any, are you making on kind of the rents and expense side of things? Thanks.

Question: Haendel St. Juste - Mizuho Securities USA - Analyst : Hey, guys, good morning. Alex, maybe a question for you on just the FFO guide here. You gave a second quarter guide, we back into kind of full year first half versus second half numbers of kind of [3.41-ish] for the midpoint of the first half, [3.37] in the back half of the year. So I know that market conditions are expected to improve as supply falls. You have some developments coming online, your borrowing costs are lower. And it's early in the year, but maybe you can also understand if there's anything contemplated in the second half that we're not aware of? Because again, there seems to be some deceleration implied in the back half of the year based on this updated guide. Thanks.

Question: Haendel St. Juste - Mizuho Securities USA - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Alexander Goldfarb - Piper Sandler Companies - Analyst : Hey, good morning down there. Alex, a question for you on the commercial paper program. You're following a long list of other larger REITs that have entered this. And I always -- whenever I speak to like unsecured -- the unsecured Mafia, I always hear some pushback on the CP program. So can you just elaborate a little bit more what the cost advantages versus line of credit, why you do it? Is there any impact from the -- I mean, the unsecured community is a pretty powerful community. You want them on your good side. So is there a pricing impact to your bonds? Or like why is there is all this commotion that I hear about? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 02, 2025 / 3:00PM, CPT.N - Q1 2025 Camden Property Trust Earnings Call

Question: Alexander Goldfarb - Piper Sandler Companies - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: John Kim - BMO Capital Markets - Analyst : Alex, we love you too. I was wondering on the April commentary of basically showing positive momentum versus the first quarter. I was wondering if you could provide that information on new leases as well? If we look at the CoStar data, it seems like April has kind of stalled out for you and some of your peers. I know that's not really apples-to-apples comparison necessarily, but I was wondering if you can comment if you've seen any softness on new leases in April?

Question: John Kim - BMO Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Thank you.

Question: Rich Hightower - Barclays - Analyst : Hi, good morning, guys. I was wondering if you could maybe give us a sense of your projections for A assets versus B assets kind of in the Sunbelt markets? And is there any difference in history if we go back and look at historical patterns? Because you've got sort of a different composition of the workforce, higher income, higher education, all that kind of stuff versus maybe where we stood 10 years, 20 years ago, just how those assets will perform?

Question: Rich Hightower - Barclays - Analyst : Okay. That's interesting. And then maybe just a follow-up. But on the $750 million of acquisitions and dispositions, I guess maybe on the disposition side. Just help us understand who the buyer pool is, cap rates, capital structures, just who's got the capacity to buy, who's lending against those assets? Is it a value-add type of plan generally? Just what's going on there?

Question: Jana Galan - Bank of America - Analyst : Thank you. Good morning. I appreciate your comments on the renewals being sent out at about 4.2%. Can you remind us what the historical take rate is there, post negotiations?

Question: Jana Galan - Bank of America - Analyst : Yes, where they kind of settle out on the renewals?

Question: Jana Galan - Bank of America - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Adam Kramer - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Great. Thank you for the time here. I think on the last call, you guys talked about full year blended lease growth between 1% and 2% with the new lease that's slightly negative and renewals in the high 3% range. And then I think you also kind of talked about the cadence of that over the course of the year. I'm wondering if there's any change to, I guess, number one, the full year numbers, both the new and renewal? And also wondering, number two, if there's any change to kind of the cadence of new lease growth and kind of the max new lease growth that you expect at some point this year? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 02, 2025 / 3:00PM, CPT.N - Q1 2025 Camden Property Trust Earnings Call

Question: Adam Kramer - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Wess Golladay - Robert W. Baird & Co lnc - Analyst : Hey, good morning, everyone. When you look at your acquisition pipeline, are you going to make a big push in Austin and Nashville this year? And are there any other markets you want to boost exposure to?

Question: Wess Golladay - Robert W. Baird & Co lnc - Analyst : Thanks, everyone.

Question: Linda Tsai - Jefferies - Analyst : Hi. On the SFR product, Woodmill Creek and Long Meadow Farms in suburban Houston, how is lease-up trending relative to expectations? And can you share what you're learning in terms of how residents are responding to the projects and maybe how you're driving traffic to these assets?

Question: Connor Peaks - Deutsche Bank - Analyst : Hi, thank you for taking my question. Bad debt continued to improve this quarter at 60 basis points. So would you say you've reached a normalized level at this point? Or are you seeing further improvement or maybe upside pressures?

Question: Connor Peaks - Deutsche Bank - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Alex Kim - Zelman & Associates - A Walker & Dunlop Company - Analyst : Hey, guys, congrats on the strong quarter. I just wanted to pull the thread a little on the transaction market. You quoted that Camden Leander was able to be acquired 15% below replacement costs previously. And that ability to buy replacement cost has been a boon thus far. And -- just curious, is that still the case in your markets? How long do you expect that to last, especially as forward outlook just grows more positive consistently? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. MAY 02, 2025 / 3:00PM, CPT.N - Q1 2025 Camden Property Trust Earnings Call

Question: Alex Kim - Zelman & Associates - A Walker & Dunlop Company - Analyst : Got it. I appreciate the level of detail there.

Question: Alexander Goldfarb - Piper Sandler Companies - Analyst : Hey, thank you for the follow up. To a cabo market question on Houston and LA, Ric, obviously, oil back in the limelight. And so just curious, with the drop in oil prices, any ramifications down the Houston market? And out in LA, with what's going on in Hollywood, the delayed reboot, how you're thinking about your Hollywood and Glendale assets?

Question: Brad Heffern - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Yes. Thanks for the follow up. Another one on DC. So last quarter, you formalized the plan to work down the exposure to both Houston and DC. Obviously, you made the positive comments on the fundamentals in DC. But are you planning to market assets in DC in the near term? Or does the uncertainty there push out your transactions and presumably, other transactions as well?

Question: Brad Heffern - RBC Capital Markets - Analyst : Okay. Thank you.

Question: Haendel St. Juste - Mizuho Securities USA - Analyst : Alex, I wanted to go back to the question asked earlier on kind of the first half versus second half in terms of FFO. But maybe from a blends perspective, you gave some updates on expectations for second quarter, and it still seems like the first half looks for blends is looking to be somewhat flattish. And so to get to your full year guide, it implies a pretty meaningful ramp in the back half of the year to, I think, over 2%. So maybe help us understand kind of what's driving that, your confidence threshold, and maybe any additional perspectives? Thanks.

Question: James Feldman - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC - Analyst : Great. Thanks for the follow up. Just quickly on your insurance renewal coming up in May. I'm just curious, what have you included in guidance for that? And how are things trending in those conversations?