PHILADELPHIA, PA — Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) maintained its full-year earnings outlook after second-quarter leasing trends improved and same-store net operating income rose 1.2%, even as quarterly net income fell from a year earlier.
The multifamily real estate investment trust reported net income available to common shares of $3.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, down from $8 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share fell to $0.01 from $0.03.
Core funds from operations, or CFFO, totaled $66.6 million, compared with $66.7 million a year earlier. CFFO per share was unchanged at $0.28, while adjusted EBITDA increased to $90.3 million from $87.6 million.
Operating trends showed improvement in rental pricing despite slightly lower occupancy. Same-store rental and other property revenue increased 0.9% while property operating expenses rose 0.5%, producing the 1.2% increase in NOI. Average occupancy declined 30 basis points to 95%, while the average rental rate increased 0.4% to $1,597.
Lease-over-lease pricing also strengthened from the first quarter. New-lease rates remained 2.1% below prior leases, but that compared with a 5.1% decline in the first quarter. Renewal rates increased 4.6%, resulting in blended growth of 1.6%, compared with a 0.5% decline in the first quarter.
“Market conditions are improving and momentum is building across the portfolio as we move through 2026,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Schaeffer stated. He pointed to higher lead volume, new-lease rate growth approaching breakeven and same-store performance running ahead of the company’s plan.
IRT maintained full-year CFFO guidance of $1.13 to $1.15 per share and narrowed its FFO forecast to $1.16 to $1.18 from $1.15 to $1.19. EPS guidance was adjusted to $0.22 to $0.27 from $0.21 to $0.28, leaving the midpoint unchanged.
The company also tightened several operating assumptions. It now expects same-store NOI growth of 1% to 2%, compared with its previous range of a 0.6% decline to 2.2% growth. The midpoint increased 0.7 percentage point.
Expected total operating expense growth was lowered to 1.6% to 2.4% from 2.9% to 3.9%. IRT reduced its forecast for controllable operating expense growth to 3.3% to 3.7% from 4.6% to 5.6%, while projected real estate tax and insurance expense shifted to a decline of 1% to 0.2%.
Those improvements are partly offset by higher financing costs. Full-year interest expense is now projected at $96.5 million to $97.5 million, compared with the previous $93 million to $97 million range.
IRT continued its renovation program during the quarter, completing 600 units at an average cost of $20,477 each. The renovated apartments generated an average monthly rent premium of $279 over comparable unrenovated units, producing a weighted average return on investment of 16.4%. For the first six months of 2026, the company completed 1,026 renovations.
The REIT had two properties classified as held for sale as of June 30 and expects dispositions totaling $106 million to $112 million. Its acquisition volume forecast remains $145 million, reflecting first-quarter activity involving a property in Columbus, Ohio, and consolidation of a property underlying a joint venture investment in Austin, Texas.
IRT also entered an agreement during the second quarter to sell Stonebridge Crossings, with the transaction expected to close during the third quarter.
The company reported approximately $503.1 million of liquidity as of June 30 from unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and capacity under its unsecured revolving credit facility. Net debt to adjusted EBITDA stood at 6.5 times, while 86.9% of consolidated debt carried fixed rates or was hedged. The weighted average effective interest rate was 4.3%, with an average maturity of 2.9 years.
IRT’s board increased its quarterly common-stock dividend by 5.9% to $0.18 per share from $0.17. The second-quarter dividend was paid July 17 to shareholders of record as of June 26.
Independence Realty Trust owns and operates multifamily communities in non-gateway U.S. markets and is a constituent of the S&P MidCap 400. Additional investor information is available at https://investors.irtliving.com.
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