Occupancy and Rate Trends
Q: How did occupancy and rates trend in April compared to the end of Q1?
A: Occupancy at the end of April was 93.7%, a 50 basis point increase over last year, with rates improving sequentially month-over-month since January. Achieved rates averaged about negative 14% in the quarter, improving to about negative 9% year-over-year in April.

Guidance and Street Rates
Q: How much must street rates increase to meet guidance midpoint?
A: Street rates are just one component of revenue, and the company doesn't target a specific increase. They aim to maximize revenue through a mix of street rates, occupancy, discounts, marketing spend, and ECRI, rather than focusing solely on street rates.

Seasonality and Operational Confidence
Q: Are normal seasonality trends returning, and how confident are you in operations?
A: There's some comfort as the leasing season approaches, but due to reduced housing activity and signs of consumer weakness, there's not enough confidence to change guidance. The company notes that occupancy seasonality has been smoothed, but rate power remains an issue.

Transaction Market and Acquisition Yields
Q: How is the transaction market, and what yields are you seeing on acquisitions?
A: The transaction market is muted with a significant bid-ask spread and little distress in storage. In Q1, they approved only 3 transactions: a remotely managed store with an initial cap rate in the mid-6% and two developments with property-level yields in the high-8%.

Supply Picture and Development Trends
Q: How are supply dynamics and construction starts affecting future performance?
A: In Q1, 3% of the same-store pool had new supply delivered in their trade area, aligning with an estimated 11–13% for the year, down 30% from 2023 deliveries. Headwinds like equity availability, debt costs, and construction costs are limiting self-storage development, though some markets face new supply issues.

Integration of Life Storage
Q: How is the integration of Life Storage progressing, and have you realized revenue synergies?
A: The Life Storage assets are performing as expected, with a 90 basis point occupancy gap and an 8–12% rate gap remaining. Progress has been made in operations alignment, but there's still opportunity to capture further synergies.

Consumer Behavior and ECRI Impact
Q: How is consumer behavior impacting ECRIs and length of stay?
A: Existing customers are strong and price-insensitive, with low move-outs despite ECRIs. Length of stay is incrementally better than pre-COVID levels but is normalizing from COVID peaks. There's more price sensitivity among new customers due to factors like reduced savings and consumer weakness.

Bridge Loan Program Growth
Q: What's driving the growth in the bridge loan program, and who are the customers?
A: Demand is strong, partly due to new relationships from the Life Storage merger. They've closed or have under term sheet $239 million in bridge loans with former Life Storage partners. Customers often seek to cash out expensive equity partners in a challenging sales market.