Clipper Realty CEO David Bistricer (Bistricer courtesy of Clipper Realty)
Clipper Realty reported a slight revenue decline during the second quarter compared to a year ago.
The Brooklyn-based REIT attributed the dip to reduced rent at the Tribeca House, its two-building, 505-unit mixed-use complex at 50 Murray Street and 53 Park Place.
But company executives emphasized their optimism about the market recovery during an earnings call Monday, noting that across the portfolio, tenants who signed leases more recently are paying rents closer to pre-pandemic levels.
In addition, more tenants are now paying their bills as they regain confidence in their financial situations, said Clipper co-chairman and CEO David Bistricer.
“This is the bill that people don’t want to miss because at the end of the day… nobody wants to have a bad credit rating,” he said.
The company’s properties were 94 percent leased at the end of the second quarter, and the rent collection rate was 96 percent, up by 1 percentage point compared to the end of 2020.
Chief Operating Officer J. J. Bistricer — David’s son — said the company has been working with tenants who are having a tough time paying rent because of the pandemic. The firm expects to receive about $1 million from the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, or ERAP, which is slowly distributing assistance for tenants with back rent.
Total revenues during the second quarter were $30.7 million, down 1.6 percent from a year ago, and generally flat (up 0.07 percent) from the first quarter. Adjusted funds from operations during the second quarter were about $4.1 million, down 25 percent from the record profits seen a year ago, but up 32 percent from the first quarter of this year.
