IRT Raises 2026 Same-Store NOI Outlook After Expense Slowdown

The Tip Desk · August 3, 2026 · 3 min read

The multifamily REIT completed 600 value-add renovations in the second quarter and affirmed full-year CFFO guidance of $1.13 to $1.15 a share.

Independence Realty Trust (IRT) raised the midpoint of its 2026 same-store net operating income growth outlook to 1.5% after property operating expenses slowed in the second quarter, even as rental revenue growth eased.

Same-store NOI rose 1.2% in the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared with a year earlier, after 1.0% growth in the first quarter. The company now expects full-year same-store NOI growth of 1.0% to 2.0%, a 0.7-point lift at the midpoint from the prior outlook of minus 0.6% to 2.2%. Property revenue growth is now seen at 1.5% to 1.9%.

The expense path is the turn. Same-store property operating expenses rose 0.5% year over year in the second quarter, after a 2.0% increase in the first quarter. Controllable operating expense growth for the full year is now projected at 3.3% to 3.7%, down 1.6 points at the midpoint from the prior 4.6% to 5.6% range. Total operating expense growth is now 1.6% to 2.4%. Same-store NOI margin expanded 20 basis points year over year to 62.7%.

Rental and other property revenue on the same-store portfolio increased 0.9% year over year, after a 1.4% rise in the first quarter. Average occupancy was 95.0%, down 30 basis points from a year earlier. The average rental rate was $1,597. Resident retention was 58.1%.

Leasing spreads improved sequentially. Blended lease-over-lease effective rental rate growth was 1.6% in the second quarter, after a 0.5% decline in the first quarter. New-lease growth was minus 2.1%, and renewal growth was 4.6%. Chairman and CEO Scott Schaeffer said lead volume was up, new lease rate growth was nearing breakeven, and same-store results were ahead of plan.

CFFO was $66.6 million, or $0.28 a share, matching the year-earlier per-share figure. Adjusted EBITDA was $90.3 million. Net income available to common shares was $3.4 million, or $0.01 a share, versus $8.0 million, or $0.03 a share, a year earlier.

The Value Add Program completed 600 renovations in the second quarter, with a weighted average return on investment of 16.4%, an average cost of $20,477 per unit, and an average monthly rent increase of $279 over unrenovated comparable units. Two properties were classified as held for sale at June 30. The company executed a purchase and sale agreement for Stonebridge Crossings, with closing expected in the third quarter.

Net debt to Adjusted EBITDA was 6.5x at June 30, unchanged from March 31. Liquidity was about $503.1 million. The weighted average effective interest rate on consolidated debt, including hedges, was 4.3%, with a 2.9-year weighted average maturity and 86.9% of debt fixed or hedged. Fitch upgraded the outlook to positive.

The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 a share, a 5.9% increase from $0.17. Full-year 2026 CFFO guidance remains $1.13 to $1.15 a share, with the midpoint unchanged. EPS guidance is $0.22 to $0.27. Interest expense is now projected at $96.5 million to $97.5 million, a $2.0 million midpoint increase. Acquisition volume is still $145 million and disposition volume $106 million to $112 million.