Mazen Ghaul

Mazen Ghaul inquired about the call option for Independence Realty Trust's Mustang joint venture property in Dallas, asking if it was open, the company's thoughts on exercising it, and the forward NOI yield. He also asked about Independence Realty Trust's rationale behind repurchasing shares during the quarter.

Answer

Scott Schaeffer, CEO, confirmed the call option is open but stated that exercising it at the current cap rate is not the best use of capital. He anticipates selling the property this year to redeploy capital into more accretive uses, such as deleveraging or share buybacks. Jim Sebra, CFO and Treasurer, explained that the share repurchases were driven by a fundamental disconnect between implied and market cap rates, utilizing capital from non-EBITDA-generating sources, such as the sale of a joint venture asset and embedded gains from forward contracts, to buy back stock in an accretive manner for shareholders.