Earnings Call Transcript - CUBE Q4 2021

Operator, Operator

Good morning and thank you for joining CubeSmart's Fourth Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Jason, and I will be your moderator today. I would now like to turn the conference over to Josh Schutzer, Vice President of Finance at CubeSmart.

Josh Schutzer, Vice President of Finance

Thank you, Jason. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CubeSmart’s fourth quarter 2021 earnings call. Participants on today’s call include Chris Marr, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer. Our prepared remarks will be followed by a Q&A session. In addition to our earnings release, which was issued yesterday evening, supplemental operating and financial data is available under the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.cubesmart.com. The Company’s remarks will include certain forward-looking statements regarding earnings and strategy that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are provided in documents the Company furnishes to or files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the Form 8-K we filed this morning, together with our earnings release filed on the Form 8-K and the Risk Factors section of the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K. In addition, the Company’s remarks include reference to non-GAAP measures. A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP measures can be found in the fourth quarter financial supplement posted on the Company’s website at www.cubesmart.com. I will now turn the call over to Chris.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Thank you all for joining us at the end of what has been a very unusual and turbulent geopolitical week in our world. We are proud to announce our fourth quarter and year-end results last evening. It was an extraordinary quarter for our company, wrapping up a truly memorable year. Our strong operating fundamentals continued in the fourth quarter. Sequentially, from the third quarter, we grew realized rent 170 basis points, posting 16.1% growth. We were all alone at the top of our sector in generating sequential same-store revenue growth, gaining 20 basis points from our third quarter results. All of our markets continue to perform well. Pandemic-induced trends seem to have normalized first in the Acela corridor. Our outlook for 2022 assumes a gradual return to more traditional seasonality across most of our markets. In my 27 years in our industry, 2021 stands out as one of, if not the most remarkable periods I have experienced from all aspects of our business. Many of our customers inform us that they wish to be served in a more personalized manner than we have historically. Our teammates desire more flexibility in how and where they do their work. Operating fundamentals across all metrics surpassed previous record highs. Investment opportunities were the most plentiful I can recall, seemingly surpassing even the 1994-1997 period of rapid consolidation in the post-RTC world. Attractive debt and equity capital was readily available to fund that external growth. Overall, it was very rewarding to see the industry recognized as a great business, to be able to serve our customers and help relieve the stress that they feel in their life events, and for our CubeSmart teammates to be able to deliver the positive results we are all here to speak about today. It is an exciting time to be in our industry. The pandemic has introduced us to new customer segments. We have matured as a sector. This has resulted in many new shareholders, institutional investors, and entrepreneurs entering our space. Many of these are our customers, our competitors and sometimes both. I believe we are living through a turning point in the perception of self-storage, and this time period will be viewed historically as the shift from a niche business to a respected core member of the real estate industry. Thank you, and I will turn the call over to Tim.

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

Thanks, Chris, and thank you to everyone on the call for your continued interest and support. As Chris touched on, the fourth quarter wrapped up what was by almost any measure the best year in the history of the self-storage sector. Our team at CubeSmart was busy across all aspects of the business, and our strong team, platform and portfolio put us in a position to capitalize on the opportunities that incredibly strong operating fundamentals presented. Same-store performance for the quarter included headline results of 15.8% revenue growth, 4.2% expense growth, yielding NOI growth of 20.6% for the quarter. Average occupancy in the fourth quarter was 93.8%, and we ended the quarter with occupancy of 93.3%. Same-store revenue growth at 15.8% continued to be very robust with our markets in the Southeast and Southwest parts of the country leading the way. We continue to see the ability to push rental rates across the portfolio to achieve our growth. Strong operating fundamentals also led to solid performance across our non-same-store portfolio and our third-party management business during the quarter. Combining all of that internal growth, along with external growth, we reported FFO per share as adjusted of $0.58 for the quarter, representing 23.4% growth over last year. We remain active and disciplined in our pursuit of external growth opportunities, and the fourth quarter was a very busy quarter for our team on that front. During the fourth quarter, we closed on the $1.7 billion acquisition of LAACO Limited, the owner of the Storage West self-storage platform. This 59-store portfolio concentrated in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas was a great strategic fit for us as it enabled us to acquire high-quality, well-positioned stores and to diversify our portfolio into several markets that we’ve historically been underweight in. Also during the quarter, we acquired 5 additional stores for $85.8 million, opened a development store in Massachusetts for $20.8 million, acquired a store in New York for $33.1 million in one of our joint ventures, and we sold a store in Texas for $5.2 million. Integration of all of these acquired stores is complete and went incredibly smoothly. So, a very active quarter on the investment front then, not surprisingly, leads to a very active quarter on the capital raising front. We funded our growth in a manner consistent with our conservative investment-grade balance sheet strategy. During the quarter, we completed an equity offering of 15.5 million common shares at $51 a share, raising net proceeds of $765 million. We also issued over $1 billion of unsecured senior notes in two tranches: a $500 million issue of 10-year bonds with a 2.5% coupon; and $550 million of 7-year bonds with a coupon of 2.25%. Proceeds were used to fund our investment activity and also to redeem $300 million of notes that were due in 2023. So, that’s obviously a lot of moving pieces. We detailed all of this in our supplemental package that we released last evening. But importantly, it all adds up to us being in a great position from a balance sheet perspective entering 2022. We funded the meaningful growth we experienced at the tail end of ‘21 and are prepared to be opportunistic going forward if we can identify attractive opportunities that will allow us to continue to execute on our disciplined growth strategy. Looking forward, details of our 2022 earnings guidance and related assumptions were included in our release last night. Our 2022 same-store property pool increased by 17 stores. Consistent with prior years, our forecasts are based on a detailed asset-by-asset, ground-up approach and consider the impact at the store level, if any, of competitive new supply delivered in 2020, 2021, as well as the impact of 2022 deliveries that will compete with our stores. Embedded in our same-store expectations for 2022 is the impact of new supply that will compete with approximately 35% of our same-store portfolio. So, from a trend line perspective, you’ll recall that when we first introduced this metric back in 2017, we had 25% of our stores being impacted by supply. That 25% grew to 40% in 2018, then grew again to 50% in 2019. We then started to see the impact decline as impacted stores fell to 45% in 2020, 40% last year, and now in 2022, we see that coming down to 35%. So, we’re continuing to see signs of a lessening impact from new supply as we move forward. Our FFO guidance does not include the impact of any speculative acquisition or disposition activity as levels of activity and timing are very difficult to predict. So wrapping up prepared remarks. Thanks to all of our hard-working and talented teammates who helped lead us to the successful execution of our business objectives across many, many fronts in 2021. It was indeed an extraordinary year for the sector and for our company, and we’re energized and ready for 2022. Thanks again for joining us on the call this morning. At this time, Jason, let’s open up the call for some questions.

Operator, Operator

Thank you. Our first question is from Juan Sanabria with BMO.

Juan Sanabria, Analyst

Just curious what you guys are seeing with regards to the geographic trends post-COVID. You mentioned the Acela corridor kind of normalizing first. So, just curious if you could maybe elaborate a bit on that and what you’re expecting in the other regions as we get further along into 2022.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Sure. This is Chris. As I mentioned, when considering the markets like Boston, Connecticut, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., they seemed to return to more normalized seasonal patterns around the second quarter of last year. We started observing more typical consumer trends there, which occurred earlier than what we observed in the Sun Belt and West Coast markets. As we look ahead to 2022, our guidance includes an expectation that the West Coast and Sun Belt markets will also start showing more typical seasonal patterns. We anticipate that these markets will catch up in that regard. This shapes our outlook. Specifically, for the markets that have taken longer to return to a normal seasonal pattern and face tougher comparisons, we expect their growth rate in 2022 to potentially slow at a quicker pace than those in the Acela corridor, which have already experienced a couple of quarters of that typical performance.

Juan Sanabria, Analyst

And then, just hoping you could kind of give us an update on the supply picture in New York and whether you have any visibility into 2023 and how that’s changed over the last couple of years. And when do you think that market could turn to becoming a strength at one point, again, hopefully soon?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Thank you for the question. It's helpful to analyze this by submarket. To provide some insights, the trends differ by borough, including Westchester, Long Island, and Northern Jersey, which are part of the MSA. The Bronx has seen supply increase more quickly than other boroughs. Since 2016, there were six new openings, but that number has declined since. No new stores opened in 2020, and there was only one new store in 2021 with one or maybe two expected in 2022. Looking ahead to 2023, we do not anticipate any new openings at this time. In contrast, Brooklyn and Queens are currently facing more of an impact. Brooklyn has consistently introduced a number of stores over the past three years, averaging about five new openings annually in 2020, 2021, and expected in 2022. However, as we look to 2023, we do not expect much, if anything, to open in Brooklyn, depending on the completion of the four stores planned for 2022. Queens has seen very limited openings; with just one store in 2018 and two in 2020. Currently, there are around ten new openings anticipated in Queens, but if these all launch in 2022, we expect a significant drop-off in 2023. Queens is unique in that, due to zoning issues and its layout, new supply does not significantly affect existing stores, especially since some openings are in areas without existing CubeSmart facilities or substantial self-storage supply. Westchester, Long Island, and Northern Jersey have seen a notable increase in store openings over the past couple of years, with deliveries running between 25 to 35 per year. This trend is expected to continue into 2022. From the borough perspective, we believe the impact in the Bronx is largely behind us, while Brooklyn and Queens are currently facing the most acute challenges this year. The declining effects in Westchester, Long Island, and Northern Jersey are likely to be felt into 2023. We remain optimistic and believe our team in New York is best in class, maximizing the opportunities available there. More broadly, the MSA has performed well despite the supply challenges, even as New York City experienced significant impacts from the pandemic. We are proud of our performance and are optimistic that by 2023 and 2024, the effects of supply will lessen, leading to potential benefits.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Elvis Rodriguez.

Elvis Rodriguez, Analyst

Just following up on Juan’s question. Can you discuss the demand situation? I understand you mentioned it’s stabilizing, but how does the demand in New York City compare to the Sun Belt, especially considering the tougher comparisons in some of those Sun Belt markets? Are tenants starting to return to New York due to things reopening, or are there other factors driving demand in New York? Thank you.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Thank you for the question. Demand trends in New York have been very positive in the first two months of 2022. Compared to last year, we have seen good performance in rentals during this period. Overall demand has been evident. The general behavior in New York has varied with COVID; last year, particularly late in the year during the peak of the variant, we experienced very little activity in the boroughs. Rental and vacate volumes were low, and existing customers were not moving, with limited new tenant activity. However, things are starting to normalize now that the variant seems less of a concern. Housing trends in New York are quite encouraging, with notable increases in rental rates for multifamily properties and a rise in home values consistent with trends across the country. Observations in places like Manhattan and the outer boroughs indicate a gradual return to normalcy, despite a partial return to in-office activities. We noticed a more typical pattern of behavior last summer from Boston down to Washington, D.C., and we anticipate that similar trends will gradually spread to the rest of the country.

Elvis Rodriguez, Analyst

Thanks. And if I could just follow up. I think you mentioned that things are going well here, maybe in New York and in the region. Can you share occupancy to date perhaps relative to last year at this time in New York City and then as a whole for the portfolio?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes. The occupancy has changed in the same-store pool. Compared to last year, the overall same-store pool as of yesterday is up 10 basis points in physical occupancy from this time last year, showing some improvement from the flat situation at the end of the year. In New York, we are up nearly 75 basis points in physical occupancy compared to yesterday last year.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Todd Thomas from KeyBanc.

Todd Thomas, Analyst

My first question is around the guidance for Storage West. I appreciate the breakout there of the expected accretion in the guidance. Has anything changed regarding the outlook for that portfolio since the initial deal was struck and you underwrote the portfolio just given the lifting of price restrictions?

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

The magnitude of the accretion that we talked about when we first announced the deal and what’s embedded in our guidance is unchanged. I would say the only thing that has changed is our increased confidence in that guidance, given the fact that we now have the stores integrated into our systems. We have all of our teams in place, and we have a couple of months of performance under our belt. So, range is unchanged, confidence level is higher.

Todd Thomas, Analyst

Okay. And how much of the portfolio is operating in markets that were price-restricted? Just curious if you could discuss that and maybe break out the portfolio a little bit to help us understand.

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

On Storage West or the broader portfolio?

Todd Thomas, Analyst

Storage West.

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, there were minimal restrictions at the time of acquisition. There may have been some impact on the previous owner in certain California markets in 2021, but it was not significant for our underwriting. Overall, we noticed that the prior portfolio was well-managed, but we identified an opportunity because they had raised rates by 10% or 12% in those markets, while we had increased rates by 18% to 20% in similar locations. Our underwriting, particularly for the first year and possibly more as we look towards 2023, indicates that under our management, there is an opportunity to increase rates slightly more compared to what was done throughout 2021. However, this is not particularly related to government restrictions.

Todd Thomas, Analyst

Okay. That’s helpful. And then, I wanted to ask about the third-party management platform. I realize activity can be chunky quarter-to-quarter, and there’s a lot of transaction activity that’s impacting some of the ins and outs there. But I just wanted to see if you have visibility around stabilizing and growing the platform and what your goals are in 2022 for that.

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

Yes, thank you for the question. Our goal is to continue providing excellent services. For some stores we onboarded in the past few years, the market has been positive, and our teams have successfully leased those assets, stabilized their value, and created favorable conditions for third-party owners to market and sell their stores. We aim to acquire as many as possible, but only at prices that align with our criteria. We plan to maintain our high level of service. Predicting the number of stores joining or leaving our platform is challenging. However, we anticipate some churn as we've been adding about 200 stores annually, with a significant portion being newly developed, which we believe will lead to both opportunities and churn moving forward. This pattern was evident in 2021, and we expect it to continue into 2022. We had a successful year onboarding new stores through business development and referrals, and our team has been effective in demonstrating the value we offer to both new and existing customers. We believe we can consistently add between 100 and 200 stores each year, which seems achievable. However, we lack substantial visibility regarding stores leaving the platform.

Todd Thomas, Analyst

Right. Got it. And so the $30.5 million to $32.5 million of property management fee income that’s in the guidance, what does that assume for the total third-party management contracts throughout the year? Is there any change from year-end, what was reported?

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

Our guidance assumes that there is some churn and that there is some change in some stores coming on, some stores coming off. And so, there’s a range there from what would be a flattish type of year for change in store count to slight growth.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Ki Bin Kim from Truist.

Ki Bin Kim, Analyst

I just want to go back to your comments about more normalization in the Acela corridor. If I kind of look at what’s happening, not everyone’s back to the office quite yet. So, as that moves further along, if you could just provide some more color around what that might eventually look like as more people go back to the office, and what that might be for some of the pricing trends you’re seeing in that corridor.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes, that's an intriguing question, Ki Bin. It would provide some advantage for our small business customers who are gaining better insight into their operations and reopening in certain cases. Those who rely on office workers would benefit significantly from this. Based on our discussions with customers, which is particularly evident in Manhattan due to its unique dynamics, most individuals are still residing in the area. I took a walk around the Chelsea market meatpacking district and noticed that despite Google leasing a million square feet there, not many people are inside the building, yet they seem to be active outside, frequenting shops and cafes. This presence is encouraging. The chances of snagging a deal on an apartment seem to be behind us. As we move ahead, this might lead to greater demand for storage, as people consider moving into smaller spaces. The reopening of offices and increased commuting will create activity, which is always beneficial for our industry. However, I don’t believe this will trigger an immediate or drastic change.

Ki Bin Kim, Analyst

Got it. And can you provide some details around what’s happening with the D.C. market? Obviously, being up, I think it was 8% or so is fantastic because, not as great as some other markets. I was wondering if it’s a supply or some other peers kind of stabilized assets issue or something else.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes, thank you for the question. It’s a submarket issue. Considering that MSA is Maryland, which primarily includes Prince George’s County, the Northern Virginia suburbs, and Washington, D.C., Maryland is performing quite well. In the last quarter, they are still experiencing low double-digit same-store revenue growth. In Washington, D.C., we have five stores, and each of them now faces at least one new competitor, which is affecting that MSA. Our guidance for those five stores indicates little to no same-store revenue growth for 2022, and we certainly felt the impact of that competition in Q4. On one side, we have PG County and the Maryland suburbs, while Northern Virginia, depending on the area, has mixed results. New supply is affecting us in Fairfax County and Arlington County, but some other parts of Northern Virginia are performing well without that supply issue. Overall, the key point in response to your question is the five stores in D.C. proper.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Samir Khanal with Evercore.

Samir Khanal, Analyst

Chris, regarding the return to office normalization, what is included in your guidance considering the seasonal moderation expected in the second half of the year? Specifically, how much of a decline in occupancy are you anticipating for the overall portfolio, particularly in relation to New York?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Thank you for the question. Our guidance is primarily based on the fact that most of our growth in same-store revenues will come from rate increases. In terms of occupancy across our portfolio, it's largely consistent from market to market. While some West Coast markets may see declines due to high occupancy rates, for those that have stabilized, the occupancy trend will depend on the opportunities presented at various points in the cycle. We expect occupancy compared to last year to increase, possibly by 50 to 75 basis points at times, but it may also decrease by 50 basis points, fluctuating within that range. We anticipate the usual seasonal trend, with occupancies and rates trending upward from this coming Monday through the end of July. In the latter half of the year, we expect to see a return to the typical seasonal pattern, with some pullback in both occupancy and rates. We conduct a detailed budget analysis, and it varies by property and market. Overall, normalization has been evident on the East Coast, and we anticipate that the rest of the country will gradually follow suit.

Samir Khanal, Analyst

Got it. And I guess my second question is around just sort of the marketing expenses for this year. I know you guys are still spending on marketing while others were sort of cutting back last year. How do you think about marketing for 2022? And will you start to see some of the benefits come through this year from the spend you did last year?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes, that's one of those variable costs that certainly depends on how we perceive the returns. If we consider our expectations for this year, we anticipate good growth compared to the first quarter of last year. Essentially, it’s a comparison for the first quarter, and we expect that growth to moderate into the second, third, and fourth quarters of the year. Overall, we do not expect to see the same percentage increases that we experienced in 2021. However, I must note that our decisions are made weekly based on where opportunities arise, which will also depend on consumer behavior. We are beginning to observe a shift back to mobile usage from desktop, reflecting a gradual reopening of society, along with the strategies of our competitors. Last year, we identified good opportunities when some of our competitors were not active in the bid market, which allowed us to invest more in marketing and achieve a higher rate of return. When we analyze our realized rent for the year and our same-store revenue growth quarter-by-quarter since the second quarter of 2020, it appears those decisions have been beneficial for us.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with David Balaguer with Green Street.

David Balaguer, Analyst

Just wanted to touch on lease duration within the portfolio and how that’s changed since pre-COVID levels. Are there any numbers that you can share with us on average lease duration? And would you expect that to revert back to normal with normalized seasonality patterns?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes. That's an excellent question. One way to understand our customers is through an analogy to a natural disaster and the pandemic. For example, in South Florida, we see a surge in demand from customers as a hurricane approaches. Some customers temporarily store their outdoor furniture, and once the storm passes, they retrieve their belongings. These are typically short-term customers. Then we have others who unfortunately suffer some damage and store their dry possessions with us, leading to longer stays, often until they can settle insurance claims and make repairs. This situation somewhat parallels pandemic customers. Some had short-term needs and were with us briefly, while others found our service helpful and re-evaluated their residential needs, resulting in extended stays beyond our initial expectations at the pandemic's onset. From a numbers standpoint, around 60% of our customers have been with us for more than a year, a rise of about 600 basis points compared to previous data. Additionally, about 40% have been with us for over two years, marking a 400 basis point increase from prior levels. We are seeing more customers remaining with us for longer, although we're starting to observe a return to more typical behavior, with an increase in shorter-term customers as well.

David Balaguer, Analyst

Got it. Thank you. That’s helpful. And I wanted to touch on national supply. I don’t know how closely you follow the data providers out there, but with development delays, it just seems like there’s opportunity here for sort of double-counting and the national supply data that’s out there. Just with what you’ve seen on the ground, is that accurate?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Are there deliveries that were anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2021 extending into 2022?

David Balaguer, Analyst

Yes. It just seems as a track sort of national data around supply deliveries. With what we’re hearing with development delays, it just seems like perhaps some deliveries are being double-counted. So some that were expected in ‘21 that were delayed into ‘22 that perhaps the ‘21 figures aren’t revised. Just wondering if you had any color on that from your perspective.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes, I agree. We don’t focus extensively on the national level, as we prioritize our top 12 markets. However, conceptually, we share the same view. There was a significant delay in the latter part of 2021, which pushed some openings into 2022. We tend to analyze a rolling three-year period because whether something is delivered in November or December of 2021 or in January, February, and March of 2022, the impact on surrounding properties remains consistent. So, there’s no doubt that slippage occurs, and it was probably more pronounced in 2021, as you mentioned.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Smedes Rose with Citi.

Smedes Rose, Analyst

I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what you’re seeing for property taxes in 2022, how you expect them to increase, and if there are any areas that are particularly better or worse than others.

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

No. It's the same group of characters and markets we've consistently discussed. It feels like the same response we've been giving for about five years, which is that we continue to experience pressure across numerous markets, mainly due to significant growth in net operating income. Cap rates have either remained stable or compressed. There's a lot of evidence for tax assessors to justify increasing assessed values, and we're certainly not seeing any relief. We've been stating for several years that we expect increases in the sector to be in the 4% to 7% range, and our expectation for our portfolio in 2022 aligns with that range, leaning towards the higher end. We continue to work to challenge those assessments, and while we've had some successes, the usual players— Cook County being a notable example—reflect similar pressures broadly across the board.

Smedes Rose, Analyst

Great. Okay. And then, I’m just wondering, as you look at the acquisitions potentially in 2022, would you focus on building out around where the Storage West platform is in place to build incremental sort of critical mass there, or would that not be the case?

Tim Martin, Chief Financial Officer

I believe we have a significant opportunity to continue adding and seeking infill locations in all those markets. With our established deeper presence there, our insights and underwriting have improved, making us a more natural buyer for many of those prospects. The efficiencies gained from adding a store in these markets also increase. We have consistently looked in these areas and will keep doing so. Given our enhanced presence, I think we might uncover a few more opportunities now than in the past.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Mike Mueller from JP Morgan.

Mike Mueller, Analyst

Chris, you made the comment about customers wanting, I guess, more personalized services. I’m wondering how does that tie with the trends where you’ve seen more online over time, the contactless rentals and that dynamic?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes. Great question. So, they’re not mutually exclusive. So, when we think about that personalization, it is both, the customer who prefers a digital experience and that customer who still prefers to come into the store. So, we have quite a number of initiatives that we are exploring this year that are designed to be able to meet the customers’ desires at both ends of that spectrum. So, it’s thinking about the funnel on the website and how do you help the customer in a more personalized way, be able to select the appropriate size for them and the store in their submarket that meets their needs the best, how you think about offering them alternatives that they may or may not intuitively understand in terms of the location of the cube within the store, how do we make it a more seamless experience and a more personal experience in terms of how they are introduced to the store if they come through the digital platform, how do they access the store. It’s basically saying, how can we make it generally a similar experience to the old pre-pandemic of our teammate walking out into the parking lot with a bottle of water and a handshake, how can we do that in a digital experience as well. And we have an array of some exciting things that we think will differentiate our service delivery in the future. And I think both creates some opportunities for some incremental revenue growth as well as taking some costs out of our platform. So it’s a great question, but it really comes down to how do you make the digital experience a very similar personal one to what we’ve been able to do over our history.

Mike Mueller, Analyst

Got it. That makes sense. And second, can you give us a sense as to what the move-in rates versus the move-out rates were in the quarter?

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Yes, just a moment. From a broader perspective, last year we experienced an unusual situation where more customers were entering our portfolio than leaving. However, in the latter part of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter, we began to notice a return to normal churn levels, with slightly fewer move-in customers compared to those moving out, although this was still less than what we typically observe. Currently, the difference between move-ins and move-outs is in the range of 5% to 7% on the downside, which is about 60 basis points better than what we had experienced previously.

Operator, Operator

Our next question is with Kevin Stein with Stifel.

Kevin Stein, Analyst

Good morning. I know labor has been a challenge in the New York City area. I was just wondering if you’ve seen any changes there, if that’s had any impact to the store performance there. Thanks.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Thank you for the question. Sourcing, attracting, and recruiting new teammates in the stores remains a challenge. Our current team continues to provide excellent service and support to customers. It's hard to say if the overall job market has improved or worsened recently; we've likely just adapted to this being the new normal. Our internal teams and recruiters have discovered new methods to attract new teammates and have adjusted to the speed needed to move candidates through the hiring process, often needing to make offers quickly due to various alternatives available to them. From a cost perspective, we are already paying our store teammates at the higher end compared to our peers, so we haven't felt the need to adjust pay rates or take measures that some competitors have had to implement on a larger scale.

Operator, Operator

There are currently no further questions registered at this time. I would now like to pass the conference back over to the management team for closing remarks.

Chris Marr, President and CEO

Okay. Thank you, everybody. Great call. Really appreciate the thoughtful questions. As I said, we are incredibly excited as a company, incredibly excited as a management team for 2022 and for really everything that is happening in our industry. I couldn’t be more proud of how the team has performed, couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities that lie in front of us. And we look forward to updating you on our progress as we move throughout the course of 2022. Continue to be safe. And we look forward to speaking to all of you in a couple of months. Take care.

Operator, Operator

That concludes the CubeSmart fourth quarter earnings call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.