In fact, to give you some month-by-month numbers, March tenant sales were up 8.6%, April sales were up 9.9%, May and June were both up a strong 15%.
Traffic is still lagging a bit at around 90% of pre-COVID levels on average.
Because of the robust leasing environment, and it feels much better to us than when we emerged from the great financial crisis in 2009 and 2010.
So some of these second-quarter highlights include, on a sequential basis, occupancy gains of 90 basis points.
We saw same-center NOI growth in 11.5%.
Since our last earnings call, we issued 6.4 million shares at an average price of $18.20.
We raised $114 million of capital, and that was used to reduce debt.
Trading was good for us in the quarter and in June, and ended the second quarter as the second best performing REIT, up 58%.
Net proceeds expected to be in the $100 million range.
Year-to-date, we've paid down over $1.3 billion of debt.
A great example of the latter is that during this past quarter, we announced a 222,000 square foot SCHEELS sporting goods lease in the former Nordstrom's box at Chandler Fashion Center.
This store will be their first in the Arizona and will feature 16,000 gallons of saltwater aquarium, a wildlife mountain, a restaurant and more.
For the most part, in the U.S., with 58% of the population vaccinated, the worst of the pandemic is now behind us.
Her dedication to the company started within just a few months after Macerich's IPO in 1994, and we sincerely appreciate her contributions, her partnership, and her friendship over these many, many years.
Same-center NOI rebounded very well in the quarter, increasing 11.5% relative to the second quarter of 2020, including our lease termination income.
If we were to exclude lease termination income, same-center NOI growth still increased 10.4%.
Funds from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was $0.59 per share, up $0.20 or 51% from second-quarter 2020 at $0.39 per share.
EBITDA margin has increased over 6% to 63.9% relative to 57.7% at the end of the second quarter in 2020 and is approaching pre-COVID EBITDA margin of 65.3% at the end of the second quarter in 2019.
To expand on those, the primary factors contributing to these NOI and FFO gains are as follows: On the NOI front, one, the quarter increased in the -- the quarter increases include a $0.06 increase in percentage rents resulting from the dramatic increase in sales that we reported earlier today.
And two, common area income has contributed another $0.04 of NOI and FFO, including from our urban parking garages.
And three, our bad debt expense represents a comparative $50 million or $0.23 improvement quarter-over-quarter, including a $40 million bad debt expense incurred during the second quarter of 2020 at the onset of COVID and a net $10 million bad debt reversal within last quarter, the second quarter of 2021.
Offsetting these NOI factors were: one, $46 million or $0.21 in reduced minimum rent and recovery income from reduced occupancy as well as approximately $15 million retroactive rent abatements and rent relief of primarily 2020 rents.
To pause on this point, the previously mentioned $10 million bad debt reversal in the quarter should be viewed in tandem with a negative $15 million impact of rent abatements from our second quarter.
In other words, the net impact of COVID workout deals on same-center NOI in the second quarter was a negative $5 million when considering both line items.
And so if you want to normalize same-center NOI for what is essentially the majority of the remaining COVID workout deals, then add back $5 million or 3% roughly to same-center NOI.
Secondly, the shopping center expenses increased by approximately $0.06.
And lastly, a few other factors included: one, second quarter included increases of positive $0.09 in valuation adjustments, net of provision for income taxes from our indirect investments in various retailers that we at Macerich have previously invested in through a venture capital firm.
And two, the second quarter also included an increase in land sale income totaling approximately $0.05, which was factored into our original guidance and planning as we entered into 2021.
2021 FFO is now estimated in the range of $1.82 to $1.97 per share, which represents a $0.03 increase at the midpoint.
And in fact, we have increased the midpoint by $0.03 per share, which is also $0.04 or 2% greater than consensus estimates.
And then as for our balance sheet, within the first-quarter filings, again, we disclosed that we had sold $732 million of common equity through our ATM programs again last quarter.
Since then, we sold an additional $116 million at an average price of $18.20.
As part of our continuing commitment to deleveraging our balance sheet, since the end of our first quarter and through today, we have repaid approximately $1.3 billion debt.
And as previously stated on many occasions, we still do expect to harvest positive operating cash flow after recurring capex and dividends of well over $200 million per year from 2021 through 2023, which supports a path to continued leverage reduction in the range of 8x by the end of 2023.
Including undrawn capacity on our revolving line of our credit, of which $200 million of the $525 million aggregate capacity is currently outstanding, we have approximately $500 million of liquidity today.
June small shop sales were up 15% when compared to June 2019.
Looking at the quarter, the second-quarter small shop sales were up 13% over the second quarter of 2019.
And year-to-date through June, small shop sales were up 5% when compared to the same period in 2019.
Occupancy at the end of the second quarter was 89.4%.
This is up 90 basis points from 88.5% in the first quarter.
The other was a small tenant that had eight locations with us to a total of just 9,000 square feet.
Our trailing 12-month leasing spreads were negative 0.2%, and that's an improvement from negative 2.1% last quarter.
Average rent for the portfolio was $62.47 as of June 30, 2021, and that's flat for a year-over-year basis.
To date, we have commitments on 81% of our 2021 expiring square footage with another 19% or the balance in the letter of intent stage.
And with -- well on our way into 2022 business with 27% of the expiring square footage committed and 64% at the letter of intent stage.
In the second quarter, we opened 251,000 square feet of new stores, resulting in this total annual rent rate of $6.5 million.
We also opened 7 locations with Charming Charlie and 4 locations with FYE.
We opened a 24,000 square foot office for the county of San Bernardino at Inland Center.
So lastly, we opened the 95,000 square foot Shoppers World at Fashion District Philadelphia in the former Century 21 space, which we lost last year due to a bankruptcy liquidation.
And let me be clear, and when I say that in recent history, I'm not talking about the 16 months we've been dealing with COVID.
In the second quarter, we signed 223 leases for 692,000 square feet, resulting in $37 million in total annual rent.
In the first half of this year, we signed 488 leases for some 1.9 million square feet, resulting in $88.7 million in total annual rent.
Now this represents 18% more leases, 34% more square footage and 11% more rent during the same period from 2019.
These and others bring the total square footage of new to Macerich deals either signed or in lease in the last 12 months to just over 530,000 square feet.
In addition to Shoppers World opening at Fashion District Philadelphia, which I mentioned earlier, we signed a second lease with the -- to take over the 72,000 square foot location at Green Acres Mall that Century 21 also rejected to bankruptcy.
So by the end of this year, we will have filled the two Century 21 boxes that we lost in the bankruptcy, and this totals approximately 170,000 square feet, an impressive feat considering Century 21's liquidation occurred just 10 months ago.
At the end of the second quarter, we had signed leases for just over 500,000 square feet of new stores still to open in 2021.
And looking into 2022 and 2023, we have signed these leases for another 935,000 square feet of new stores to open.
In addition to these signed leases, we're currently negotiating leases for new stores totaling 1.1 million square feet.
In total, that's over the 2.5 million square feet of signed and in-process leases for new store openings throughout the remainder of this year and into 2022 and 2023.

Summary:
We saw same-center NOI growth in 11.5%.
Same-center NOI rebounded very well in the quarter, increasing 11.5% relative to the second quarter of 2020, including our lease termination income.
Funds from operations for the second quarter of 2021 was $0.59 per share, up $0.20 or 51% from second-quarter 2020 at $0.39 per share.
To expand on those, the primary factors contributing to these NOI and FFO gains are as follows: On the NOI front, one, the quarter increased in the -- the quarter increases include a $0.06 increase in percentage rents resulting from the dramatic increase in sales that we reported earlier today.
Secondly, the shopping center expenses increased by approximately $0.06.
2021 FFO is now estimated in the range of $1.82 to $1.97 per share, which represents a $0.03 increase at the midpoint.