Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. (NYSE:ELS) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Marguerite Nader: And Josh, I’d just also — remember that we’re here in January, we have really good visibility into the revenue side, and we’ve talked about that in October — on our call in October. But expenses, we have less visibility into. So that’s how we create our model for the year.

Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of John Pawlowski with Green Street. Your line is open.

John Pawlowski: My first question is on the trajectory of manufactured housing rent increases. And so, I think last quarter, you anticipated the first batch, the first 50% of MH rent increases to go out in the low to mid-6% range. Just curious, as the year unfolds, do you expect that growth to accelerate, be stable or come back down?

Paul Seavey: John, we have an assumption that is kind of tied to a projection of CPI that anticipates that CPI moderates throughout the year. But one thing to keep in mind is that the notices that we send. The last notice is that we send that will have impact in 2023 in the month of August. So, it’s really looking at CPI from now through, call it, July. And so, our model tested down a bit to 5% from a starting assumption of 7%.

John Pawlowski: Okay. That’s helpful. I apologize if I missed this. Can you let us know how seasonal bookings and actually the 1Q reservations are trending versus last year?

Paul Seavey: Yes, I think that — I guess the way I would talk about it is the guidance model that we’ve built based on our current reservation pacing for seasonal and transient. And I think I mentioned earlier, but consistent with the trend we saw during 2022. We’re seeing strong demand for the longer-term stays people that want to be with us a month or more. So, you walk through the math that we provided on the guidance page, our first quarter and full year combined rent growth for seasonal and transient is between 2% and 3%. That’s based on where we are with pacing, advanced visibility in the transient business, as you know, John, it’s challenging. About 60% of those rents are booked within 5 to 7 days of arrival. So, it’s just tricky on a forward basis beyond the first quarter.

John Pawlowski: Okay. Last one for me on the financing markets. Paul, I’m just curious if you’ve seen secured financing terms or just the availability debt changes at all for really hurricane-prone properties along Waterfront?

Paul Seavey: I’ll say it’s a little early to say there’s been a change. I think that — I think there’s — we are not in the market right now. So, what I’m hearing is more questions around a bit more time spent on underwriting, but I haven’t seen an indication of reduced capacity or appetite from then.

John Pawlowski: Ok, thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Michael Goldsmith with UBS. Your line is open.

Michael Goldsmith: Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Your 2023 FFO guidance calls for a $0.10 range, which is consistent with the range you provided last year. So presumably, you have a similar level of insight into the year. I guess, I was wondering, what are the factors or the line items that you have maybe less or limited visibility in 2023 to accommodate this range?