Weekly Real Estate News
Mid-America Apartment Communities lowered its full-year apartment revenue outlook after reporting muted leasing growth and a record-low share of residents moving out to buy a house. The apartment REIT released its third-quarter results October 28, 2026, at 4:15 p.m. Eastern.
MAA reported same-store effective blended lease-rate growth of just 0.4% during the quarter, even as renewal lease pricing increased 5.3% year over year. The divergence reflects weaker pricing on new leases than on renewals, a continuing challenge for apartment operators in several Sun Belt markets.
Few residents leave to buy homes
The company said move-outs associated with purchases of single-family homes fell to a record-low 10.1% of quarterly turnover. Same-store resident turnover stood at a historically low 39.6% as of September 30.
That measure describes the reasons residents gave for leaving MAA communities; it is not a national homeownership rate. Still, it provides a useful indication of how infrequently existing renters in MAA’s portfolio are transitioning into home purchases.
Guidance lowered despite stronger renewals
MAA revised its full-year 2026 same-store property revenue guidance to a decline of 0.4% to 0.1%, compared with its prior range of a 0.2% decline to a 0.4% increase. The midpoint moved from positive 0.1% to negative 0.25%.
Third-quarter Core funds from operations were $2.10 per diluted share, down from $2.16 a year earlier. The company narrowed and reduced its full-year Core FFO guidance to $8.43 to $8.55 per share, from $8.41 to $8.65, lowering the midpoint to $8.49.
Management attributed the revision partly to higher interest rates and new-lease pricing improvements arriving later than expected. It said October new-lease pricing improved from September, although the results reported Wednesday cover the quarter ended September 30.
As of quarter-end, MAA had ownership interests in 105,136 apartment units, including properties under development, across 16 states. Its results offer a regional view of rental pricing, resident retention and the affordability barriers facing prospective first-time buyers.
Primary source: MAA third-quarter earnings release, October 28, 2026.
