Extra Space Storage Q1 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
May 4, 2022

There are 13 speakers on the call.

Operator

Excuse me, this is operator. Today's conference is scheduled to begin momentarily. Until that time, your lines will again be placed on hold. Thank you for your patience. Good day, and welcome to the Q1 2022 Extra Space Storage Inc.

Operator

Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the speaker presentation, there will be a question and answer session. I would now like to hand the conference over to Jeff Norman, Senior Vice President, Capital Markets. Please go ahead.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Ashley. Welcome to Extra Space Storage's Q1 2022 earnings call. In addition to our press release, we have furnished unaudited supplemental financial information on our website. Please remember that management's prepared remarks and answers to your questions May contain forward looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied by our forward looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business.

Speaker 1

These forward looking statements are qualified by the cautionary statements contained in the company's latest filings with the SEC, which we encourage our listeners to review. Forward looking statements represent management's estimates as of today, May 4, 2022. The company assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward looking statements because of changing market conditions or other circumstances after the date of this conference call. I I would now like to turn the call over to Joe Margolis, Chief Executive Officer.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Jeff, and thank you everyone for joining today's call. We are off to a great start in 2022. Year over year same store revenue growth in the quarter was 21.7%, A new all time high for Extra Space driving same store NOI growth of 27.6%. This was achieved primarily through year over year rental rate growth, partially offset by a modest decrease in year over year occupancy. Industry fundamentals continue to be strong, operational performance has been exceptional in all markets and we are well positioned for another strong summer leasing season.

Speaker 2

A few weeks ago, we met with over 220 of our 3rd party management and joint venture partners In Austin, Texas for a few days of company updates and industry news. Most importantly, it provided a forum to For opportunities for Extra Space and our great partners to grow together. These partnerships and relationships continue to be an important part consisted of non stabilized stores acquired from existing relationships. Total first quarter investment by Extra Space Was ahead of our expectations at $229,000,000 We also closed $138,000,000 in bridge loans And we added 37 additional stores gross to our management platform. All of our various internal and external growth channels are working.

Speaker 2

We continue to find opportunities despite the competitive market and we have strong pipelines for each of these platforms. Our property NOI plus our external growth efforts resulted in core FFO growth of 34%, Which allowed our Board to increase our 1st quarter dividend to $1.50 a share, 20% over the previous quarter's dividend And 50% over the Q1 of 2021 dividend. It continues to be a great time for the storage sector And particularly for Extra Space. All aspects of the machine are working really well and we are looking forward to a very successful 2022. I'll now turn the time over to Scott.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Joe, and hello, everyone. As Joe mentioned, we had a great Q1 with our same store performance and FFO both coming in above our expectations. Our outperformance relative to our guidance was driven by stronger property performance and higher than expected interest income. Our external growth in the quarter was capitalized by draws on our revolving lines of credit and we issued $41,000,000 in common stock as part of an acquisition. During the quarter, we termed out $400,000,000 of revolving balances through our 3rd public bond offering, Further laddering our debt maturities and freeing up additional revolver capacity.

Speaker 3

Our balance sheet has never been stronger. Our unencumbered pool is now approximately $13,000,000,000 and our net debt to EBITDA is 4.4 times. We have access to many types of capital and we have significant debt capacity to support future growth. In addition to our Q1 results, we also updated our 2022 full year guidance. We've increased our same store revenue and NOI forecast Based on our Q1 outperformance and improved outlook heading into the summer leasing season, same store revenue guidance increased To 13% to 15%, driven primarily by rental rate growth.

Speaker 3

Same store expense increases in the quarter Were driven primarily by payroll, credit card fees and snow removal. As a result, we have increased our expense guidance To 6.5% to 8% for the full year. Our revenue and expense guidance results in a same store NOI growth range of 15% to 18%. As Joe mentioned, acquisition activity in the sector remains elevated And we are ahead of our original guidance for both year end closings as well as our full year pipeline. While still competitive, it appears that the number of bidders pursuing any given deal is lower, potentially due to the increasing interest rates.

Speaker 3

As a result, our capture rate has improved, especially on non stabilized one off stores. We expect to continue to Acquire through joint venture partnerships and we have increased our 2022 guidance to $800,000,000 in extra space investment. We also expect higher bridge loan activity and we have increased guidance to $150,000,000 in retained new balances in 2022. We've increased our interest income guidance by approximately $7,000,000 since our preferred investment in NexPoint remains in place And due to higher bridge loan volume and interest rates. Due to the increase in interest rates as well as higher Acquisition volume, we've increased our interest expense guidance by $13,000,000 at the midpoint.

Speaker 3

The sum of these adjustments results in an increase in core FFO, which is now estimated to be between $8.05 And $8.30 per share. We anticipate $0.20 of dilution from value add acquisitions and C of O stores, Down $0.03 from our original guidance due to stronger than expected performance at these properties. We're having a great year and we look

Operator

Your first question comes from the line of Jeff Spector with Bank of America.

Speaker 4

Hi, good afternoon and congratulations on the quarter. I know, Joe, I consider you to be conservative in your opening remarks. I feel like we're maybe the most positive opening remarks I've heard in all these years. I guess what's the if there was a number 1 or 2 big surprise versus what you were thinking last year, Now how would you describe the environment? I guess, what's turned more positive in your view?

Speaker 4

Or what's been the upside surprise?

Speaker 2

Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate the comment. I think the customer has behaved differently than we projected When we did our initial guidance, both in terms of elongated lengths of stay and The move out rate in response to ECRI to existing customer rate increase notices. Both of those things have been Better than expected and helped us both achieve better than predicted results and increase our forecast for the entire year.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you. And then just to confirm, I guess, if you can characterize the customer, I mean, I think the numbers sum it up. But So I assume at this point, I think the comment was all the regions or markets are performing well. So to confirm, you're not seeing pushback on the rental increases you're sending out, including, I guess, at this point to April?

Speaker 2

So I won't say we're not seeing pushback from the rental rates we're sending out. Our vacate Activity in response to rate increases is probably double what it normally is. But demand is so strong And our ability to backfill those tenants is consistent across the country that it hasn't affected us In terms of results, in terms of performance.

Speaker 4

Great. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Jeff.

Operator

Your next question comes from Michael Goldsmith of UBS.

Speaker 5

Good afternoon. Thanks a lot for taking my question. Sticking with the topic of ECRIs, relative to your peers, I think your occupancy took a little bit more of a hit, but You saw your rent growth accelerate further. So I guess the question is, do you did you push harder on ECRI than you had in And then which is generating the greater revenue growth. And then as you think of Kind of as you head into this period with tougher comparisons, does that change How hard you can push on the ECRIs?

Speaker 2

So we're in a Unusual, unprecedented situation where we've had several years where we've been restricted in many, many jurisdictions from how much we can increase rates and how much we can both to existing customers and to new customers. The last of those restrictions in California were just lifted in February. So We had a greater gap between what many customers were paying and what the market price for our product was. And we've tried to make progress towards closing that gap. In the future, I don't expect that gap to be as Large and consequently, CRIs won't be as large.

Speaker 5

So it's fair to say that the Maybe the acceleration is just is primarily driven by a step up just based on how you Processed ECRIs in California rather than a change in like the overall program. Is that fair?

Speaker 2

I mean the increased restrictions were lifted in New York and New Jersey in the Q4 of 2021. And that takes a while to roll through to the rent roll. So it's not all California, but Your general statement is true.

Speaker 5

That's helpful. And as my follow-up, you took your guidance up For acquisitions, I think in the past you had talked about doing more deals within the JV And it seems like the transactions being done were being wholly owned. So I'd like to kind of dig into kind of what you're seeing in the acquisition markets, The competitive nature of it and I guess the impact of rising interest rates and how that has impacted Are there potential buyers of self storage properties and portfolios? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Yes. All Great question. So it is true we have found more properties than we anticipated that Met our return requirements for wholly owned properties. So we have been more active on the wholly owned side. Those are almost exclusively Unstabilized lease up stores where we're looking at a fairly low initial yield, but we think Long term, we'll be very accretive.

Speaker 2

We are also very busy on the joint venture side. While we only closed 2 in the Q1, We've closed 1 since the end of the Q1 and have 12 scheduled to close for the rest of the year in joint venture. If you look at What's been approved in our committee for the Q1, we've approved 21 deals in joint ventures versus 18 wholly owned deals. So we're active on both sides. Turning to your pricing question, it's been a little bit of a surprise for us.

Speaker 2

As interest rates go up, we would have expected Cap rates to also go up. We have not seen a lot of evidence of that yet. I think it's because there is so much pent up demand for self storage, so much capital from many, many different sources Trying to get exposure to this property type. What we have seen though is either fewer initial bidders or As the process goes on, the leverage buyers seem to drop out. But there's enough other buyers that there's still A lot of interest in the properties, prices are pretty consistent with what they've been towards the end of last year.

Speaker 2

And there's a lot of volume. There's just a lot on the market. We don't see the big mega portfolios, but absent that, It's as busy as it's ever been in the Q1.

Speaker 5

Thank you very much. Good luck in the Q2.

Speaker 2

Thanks so much.

Operator

Your next question comes from Juan Sanabria of BMO Capital Markets.

Speaker 6

Hi, guys. Thanks for the time. Just hoping you could give an update on any trends you can share on April, whether it be occupancy or move in rates. And if you can comment on mover rates, how that trend compares relative to what you saw through the Q1?

Speaker 3

Yes, Juan. So occupancy at the end of April is just over 100 basis points lower than where it was last year. So Down slightly from the end of March, but not anything unexpected. In terms of rate, in the Q1, we averaged about 15%. Our achieved rate for new customers was 15% ahead of where it was last year.

Speaker 3

Today, in the last 15 to 30 days, it's been well, in the last 2 weeks, it's been moderating to where it's about Mid single digits today, low to mid single digits.

Speaker 6

Okay, great. And then just curious on The rate restrictions coming off, if there's any change to the quantum or the size of impact to same store revenue guidance, As you've been able to maybe capture some of that sooner given how strong the market's been, has that changed at all Given the Q1 and what you've seen today in the second?

Speaker 2

Yes. I think you'll see that change in our increased guidance.

Speaker 6

Okay. But is the impact, I guess, just isolating The rent restrictions rolling out the 50 bps you talked about at the Q4 when you set guidance, is that now a 100 basis points or is it still kind of

Speaker 2

I'm sorry, Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't understand your question. So we thought that on a portfolio wide basis, we would get a 200 basis point Boost from the ECRI and that's probably now closer to 400 basis points. In California, we said 50 basis points And we, as I said earlier, underestimated both the move out rate in response to that and then the length of stay of tenants who get it. And so that's considerably higher also.

Speaker 6

Thank So just to tie 2 ends there. The 2x move out rate that you Noted on to Jeff's earlier question, is that more tied to California? Because that sounded a little alarming just in a vacuum, But is that just as a result of California and moving people closer to market and not really a warning sign?

Speaker 2

No, it's a function of everywhere where we have moved people to market. There's 2 factors. 1 is the rate restriction, which keeps the existing rate down, But the other is the large increase in street rates. So if someone comes in at an Internet special rate And they're paying 15% just as an example below street rate on day 1 and rates are going up. Scott said 15% in the Q1 achieved rates.

Speaker 2

You have a pretty big gap there Even in a state without a rate restriction. So we are also experiencing the type of behavior that I described in those states.

Speaker 3

And Juan, maybe to This isn't a new trend. We saw this in the last year. We saw higher move outs as we executed on higher rate larger rate increases.

Operator

Your next question comes from Todd Thomas with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Speaker 7

Hi, thanks. First question, Joe or Scott, I guess back to investments. Can you comment on whether EXR has changed its return hurdles at all going forward as you underwrite new deals? And I realize you increased your guidance for acquisitions by $300,000,000 but just curious, I guess, if your appetite from here Has really changed at all just given the increase in debt and equity costs for the company or perhaps in response to your view around the economic growth outlook?

Speaker 2

So we haven't changed our underwriting discipline or processes in any way. As you point on, our average cost of debt has increased slightly. Our cost to equity Has increased slightly. So our weighted average cost of capital, the hurdle we have to jump over has gone up. Well, we've still been able to find deals either through a wholly owned basis or structured through a joint venture to enhance those returns.

Speaker 2

That makes sense for our shareholders.

Speaker 7

Okay. And it sounds like You talked about utilizing joint venture capital perhaps a little bit more here in the near term. What's the appetite like from your joint venture partners? And are they Is there appetite for new deals pretty steady here? Or are you seeing them sort of pull back a little bit and perhaps Change their return hurdles and expectations?

Speaker 2

No, we have great joint venture partners who have Significant capital resources and appetite for storage exposure. And In the event we ever got to the point where they were full or wanted to take a pause, there's Plenty of folks out there who would be really happy to partner with Extra Space Storage. So we're in a great position now Where we have plenty of access to joint venture capital. We have plenty of access to all different types of debt capital. We feel the restricting metric on our growth is availability of good deals.

Speaker 2

It's not Finding the appropriate type of capital to capitalize on with.

Speaker 7

Okay. Just last question, Scott, within the guidance Provision and sorry if I missed this, but can you speak to the increases in interest income and also JV income, what the drivers, the primary drivers are behind the increases in those assumptions, which totaled about $0.10 or so?

Speaker 3

Yes. So in the interest income, it's a couple of things. One is the bridge loan programs just really doing well. It's been successful. We're placing lots of bridge loans.

Speaker 3

We're keeping more on balance and it's taking maybe a little more time to sell the A piece of that. So The assumption is higher from that aspect. It also is higher because of The J cap assumption. So we are assuming now that we keep that through May and then do a blend and extend after May. And then that in addition to that, you have higher interest rates.

Speaker 3

And so the bridge loans are more profitable as interest rates go up. So that's kind of what's in the next three quarters. In the Q1, we did have the benefit of some one time type transactions where we Sold the $103,000,000 note, we unwound an unamortized premium that benefited us. And so we had more Q1 was higher than the remainder of the year will be.

Speaker 7

And then the second one about the yes.

Speaker 3

Sorry, equity and earnings piece is primarily getting into the promote on some of the JVs with the performance of the properties. It is going to move us into the promote of some of those. Those JV budgets were done late earlier than the wholly owned properties. And as we've gone back through and looked at the performance of those, we feel like they Should outperform where we originally estimated.

Speaker 1

Okay, that's helpful. Thank you. Thanks.

Operator

Your next question comes from Samir Khanal with Evercore ISI.

Speaker 8

Hey, Scott. You talked about sort of the length of stay continuing to expand here. Can you remind us where that is today versus, let's say, even a year ago or even What's been the trend on that?

Speaker 3

So our trend continues to extend. If you look at customers that are in our properties today, Length of stay is about 42 months. It's just over 40 months. It depends on the period. That has Gone up through COVID, if you look at our customers that have moved in and moved out, the average length to stay there is about 16 months.

Speaker 3

I I think that you're probably up as much as 10% over the last 2 years.

Speaker 8

Got it. And then Joe, I just want to get your thoughts on sort of the business customer. I mean, has there been any shift in demand from that segment? I mean, there's Clearly been talking about sort of that last mile delivery. I mean, are you seeing sort of that segment or increased demand pickup at all?

Speaker 2

The last mile delivery is not a significant part of our business at all. I think that's Kind of interesting talk, but realistically that's not meaningful to us.

Speaker 8

And what about The business customer in general, have you seen sort of the pickup in demand from that segment generally?

Speaker 2

I think the business demand is steady. I wouldn't say we've seen pickup in it. It's an increasingly smaller piece of our business Because as we grow the portfolio and add more stores that are current generation storage That are multi story, the percentage of units that most business customers seek, right, large outside access units Is a much smaller percentage of our portfolio. So therefore that customer becomes a much smaller piece of our business. But in terms of demand and behavior, there's really been no change.

Speaker 8

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 6

Sure.

Operator

Your next question comes from Keayghan Corl with Berenberg.

Speaker 9

Hey, guys. Thanks for the time. So just first, I know it's a needs based business, How much of an impact from the current inflationary pressures are you factoring into your price increases going out?

Speaker 3

So with the ability to adjust rates month to month, I mean, I'm Guessing some of our rate increases in the overall economy is going to be attributable to inflation, but ours is more demand based. And so as demand increases, you have the ability to move up your street rates and move up your existing customer rates. So it's really difficult to attribute what amount is to inflation Versus demand?

Speaker 2

Yes. We don't do very much forward price predicting because we change the rates on every unit every day Based on data that has come in as to what happened. So it really doesn't help us to try to figure out what a 10 by 10 is going to be priced 30 days from now. The machine and the algorithms and the people who work on that are going to adjust prices constantly To try to optimize revenue.

Speaker 9

Yes. I think I asked that poorly. So let me rephrase it. I guess something more The economy could become more of a challenge given what's going on with inflation. So I mean, how sensitive are you in factoring what that's going to do to potential consumer balance sheets when you're sending out Price increases.

Speaker 2

So every time we send out price increases, we Keep back a control group. So for example, if we send out 100,000 price increases a month, We'll keep back 1500 or 2000 folks who should have gotten a price increase. And then we'll track their move out rate versus the folks who did get the price increase notice. And that's the way we can constantly check to see if we are Pushing too hard and actually harming the business. Is that helpful?

Speaker 9

Yes. That makes sense. So I guess shifting gears here, I mean, obviously, your 3rd party management platform is strong and growing. So how much of an appetite are you Truly seeing for that? What sort of conversion rate are you having on its pipeline versus what you're actually closing on?

Speaker 6

So,

Speaker 2

Last year was an unusual year, right, because we added 104 properties net. We bought 58 properties off the portfolio too, but we had 104 net including a large 59 or 60 property portfolio. So if you look at our activities today versus historically without that large portfolio, we're right on track. We did 187 new property projections in the Q1 and approved 52 new contracts. That's right in line with our averages over the last couple of years excluding that large portfolio.

Speaker 2

In the Q1, we added 19 stores net. We bought 6 and added 19 net. So that's what a run rate of 76 properties. That's a good if we can grow this business by 75 to 100 properties net a year, That's pretty consistent with what we've done in the past and pretty strong.

Speaker 6

Got it. Thanks for the time, guys.

Speaker 2

Sure.

Operator

Your next question comes from Caitlin Burrows with Goldman Sachs.

Speaker 10

Hi, there. Maybe just a question on the demand side. I feel like there is a thought out there that just with the amount of life change that's happened over the past 2 plus years with COVID that there is no way it can kind of Stay this elevated. So I was just wondering maybe if you could give your thoughts on why demand is so high, maybe why it can or can't stay so elevated, and just Where we go from here?

Speaker 2

So I think demand can Stay elevated in a changing economic environment, which is I think what you're asking is because The drivers of demand, there are some drivers that occur in all economic Situations, right? People still get married, they still have babies, etcetera. And then there's drivers that occur in bad economic conditions Where I can't afford my apartment, I need to move back in with my parents. I have to downsize my business. So because of the diverse demand drivers, I think we can maintain Healthy demand through all economic cycles.

Speaker 2

And that's not just the theory, right? We saw in 2,008, 2,009 We didn't really have a demand problem. We had a vacate problem. And there's been Consistent demand through that period, there's been consistent demand through 2020 2021. So we're bullish On the demand side.

Speaker 10

I guess just as a follow-up on that vacate issue that was seen in the past, would you say then that your Kind of systems have improved that much since then, so you would be better positioned to address it or how could that play out differently going forward.

Speaker 2

I couldn't have said it any better. We just we try to sharpen the tools every day and become a little bit better At optimizing performance in response to what's happening. So that I think you're absolutely right.

Speaker 10

Okay. And then maybe just one on the higher bridge loan activity. I think you've mentioned a few times, it was higher in the quarter than you were Expecting and seems like it could remain high, wondering if there was any specific reasons you could give that might be driving it and how sustainable that is?

Speaker 2

I don't think there's a specific reason. I think it's just Largely a relationship business and as our relationships grow and as we do repeat business with Borrowers, it tends it's like a snowball rolling down a hill. It just tends to increase. And we've seen that We really started this business in 2019. We only did 9 loans And we did 27 the next year and 34 last year and now we're on track to continue to just increase this business.

Speaker 2

So I don't think it's a change in the market. It's just a natural growth in the business and relationships and repeat borrowers.

Speaker 10

Got it. Thanks for that.

Speaker 1

Sure.

Operator

Your next question comes from Ki Bin Kim with Truist.

Speaker 11

Thank you. Good morning. Just going back to the comments about the mid single digit rate increase in April, I was just curious If it's taking more marketing dollars or promotions to keep that or is that pretty apples to apples in terms of Pricing power indications.

Speaker 3

Yes. Ki Bin, our demand has been strong enough that our marketing is actually down. So it's encouraging that we're able to increase rates, demand is so good and the customer rate increases are sticking.

Speaker 11

Okay. And in terms of your balance sheet, your variable rate debt represents about 25% of your debt stack. Now I don't want to miss the big picture. That's been a winning formula for the past, I'll say, forever. And this may be the 1st year that may not be a winning formula.

Speaker 6

So I

Speaker 12

was just curious if you have any

Speaker 11

kind of larger picture thoughts on what you intend to do with that variable rate debt?

Speaker 3

Yes. Our variable rate debt has been something that we've had for a long time. We've typically managed that 20% to 30%. It gives us the flexibility to buy things. Typically, what we'll do is we'll Draw on the line of credit is we have acquisition opportunities and then we'll look to term that out.

Speaker 3

You saw us do that earlier this year. Clearly, you like variable rate debt more when interest rates are falling than when they're rising, but we'll continue to manage that. We do have a bit of a natural hedge with our bridge loan program where those are also variable rate loans go in the other direction.

Speaker 1

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 8

Thank you, Ben.

Operator

Your next question comes from Spenser Allaway with Green Street. Thank you. Apologies if

Speaker 10

I missed this, but can you comment on how your expectations for supply pressure have changed or not since last quarter, it seems as though the increasing pressure on construction financing coupled with, permitting backlogs, etcetera, continue to push deliveries out. But Just wanted to get your updated thoughts on what you guys are seeing on the ground?

Speaker 2

Yes. We have Seeing a moderation in our expectations of new deliveries. We look at our same store pool and what's going to be delivered This year, our estimate now is below 20% of our new of our same store pool is going to have new deliveries and that's down somewhat From last quarter as we see some of the things you mentioned is delays and projects not going forward. So supply is certainly moderating. It's not a non issue.

Speaker 2

There are still things being delivered. We have a very diverse portfolio, so we'll be able to manage to it as we'll have Some properties having to deal with new supply, which we know how to do and in other markets not. But I still believe even with Cost increases and more difficulty in entitlements that we are going to see more development in the future. The performance of the project of the product is very strong, it's just too good. The amount of capital is Unprecedented and people are going to find ways to build and it may take longer, But I think it's going to happen.

Speaker 2

And we know this because I mentioned we did 187 new property projections in the Q1 on the management 74 of those were for new development. So people are trying to get it done. And hopefully the industry as a whole will be smart about it.

Speaker 10

That's very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure.

Operator

Your next question comes from Smedes Rose of Citi.

Speaker 6

Hi, thanks. I just wanted to ask you on the joint venture opportunities. You talked about increasing your activity there. Are you generally working with the same partners and pools of capital? Are you bringing in new folks?

Speaker 6

You mentioned a lot of pent up demand and a lot of capital

Speaker 2

We do have 2 new joint venture partners that we have or will close Ventures with this year, I guess one's closed, one's about to close. It's a juggling act, right, because we want to be a good partner and be able to satisfy everyone's needs, but we never want to run out of joint venture capital. So we're always trying Have sufficient capital, but not have too many mouths to feed.

Speaker 6

Okay. And then, I mean, just on that, do you I mean, when you go into the joint ventures, is it your view that you would just sort of stay joint venture partners kind For some very long timeline or do you set up agreements where each can have the opportunity to potentially exit or I'm just trying to think about, I guess the timeline for the joint ventures or maybe there's not one.

Speaker 2

It's a great question and it's something we focus on a lot. It's One of the most important things that the table stakes to form a joint venture partner is that we have similar investment criteria. So So our joint venture partners are general accounts of insurance companies, Odyssey, core Odyssey funds That have kind of unlimited lives and unlimited holding periods. We don't want IRR Driven partners that are going to want to pull the sale button in 3 years. We're looking for people who are looking at these assets just like we are As quasi permanent holds for cash flow that we can grow year after year after year.

Speaker 2

Now that being said, no one can promise they're going to hold forever. At some point, our partners do want to sell. We have rights in all of our joint venture partners Upon exit to have an opportunity to purchase. But much more important than what's in the legal document is that We partner with people who are like minded with us and have similar investment goals.

Speaker 6

Got you. Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure, Smedes.

Operator

Your next question comes from Mike Mueller with JPMorgan.

Speaker 3

Yes. Hi. Two quick ones and I apologize if I missed these before. But did you comment on what move in versus move out rates were in the And then for the operating properties that were acquired in the Q1, what was the average occupancy? Yes.

Speaker 3

So move in rates versus move out rates, we're about 10% below. Our move in rates were 10% below our existing customers, which is very typical for this time of year. So no concerns there. And then our average occupancy we're pulling

Speaker 2

I got it. The average occupancy on the wholly owned stores was 76% With the projected 13 months to stabilization and that's economic stabilization, not Physical occupancy stabilization.

Speaker 3

Okay. That was it. Thank you. Thanks, Mike.

Operator

Your next question comes from Ronald Kamdem with Morgan Stanley.

Speaker 12

Two quick ones. First on expenses, just looking at property taxes were up 1% And payroll, I see 8%. Just can you comment on both of those line items on the property taxes front and how payrolls are trending?

Speaker 3

Yes. Property taxes were maybe a little lower than maybe some people expected. That has more to do with Timing of appeals, then you'd like to think you're doing some type of Jedi mind trick or something to keep those rates low, but I don't think that it's anything other than Those appeals coming through when they did. In terms of payroll, we did increase rates for our employees by about 8% at the end of last When you take their annual rate increase as well as a one time adjustment. And then our staffing has largely returned to normal.

Speaker 3

So Those are that's a little bit more clarity on those two items.

Speaker 12

Great. And then my second question was just trying to understand How to think about looking at the entire portfolio and what the mark to market Today, you made some comments earlier that people are moving in maybe 10% below portfolio Rents, which is helpful. But if I take a step back and try to get at that calculation where rents are in the portfolio today versus The market, how should we think about that?

Speaker 3

Yes. So that 10% number is obviously a time of year type of thing. So you have a customer that moves in last summer at a higher rate. Typically, you do see street rates go down in the fall and through the winter and then they go back up in the summer. Those existing customers that moved in last Summer last fall are going to be getting rate increases.

Speaker 3

So that's going to contribute to your growth going forward. So not uncommon all part of the rate cycle.

Speaker 12

Great. Thanks so much.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Ron.

Operator

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Joe Mercolos, CEO.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you everyone for taking the time to listen. Thank you for your interest in Extra Space. We're Really happy to be able to deliver these types of results for our shareholders. But it happens because there's Over 4,000 people at Extra Space who are working really hard every day from in the stores to The data science folks to the accountants to all the investment people to put the entire team just works hard and works well together and They need a lot of credit and shout out for the results they're delivering.

Speaker 2

Thanks everyone. I hope you have a good day.

Operator

This concludes today's conference call. You may

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Earnings Conference Call
Extra Space Storage Q1 2022
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