Jay Sugarman, chairman and CEO of Safehold Inc. (NYSE: SAFE), joined Nareit in New York for a video interview at REITweek: 2019 Investor Conference.
Sugarman commented on Safehold’s strategy of reinventing the ground lease concept.
“We’re bringing a major efficiency to a $7 trillion commercial real estate market and we’re delivering a better customer experience,” Sugarman said.
He noted that the market has responded favorably this year to the Safehold strategy. At the same time, the company has been actively telling the Safehold story to investors, emphasizing that the company offers triple-A safety, above-market income streams, and large capital appreciation. “It seems like it’s all coming together now,” he said.
Safehold targets the top 30 markets across multiple product types, Sugarman said. The company can also establish a ground lease at any point in the life cycle of the asset. He noted that multifamily is Safehold’s fastest growing property type. As for geographic markets, “wherever we have played historically as an investor, Safehold will go,” he said. Currently, Safehold is active in about 20 of the top 30 markets identified by the company.