Equity Residential Reports Steady Q2 Earnings Amid Leadership Changes

Equity Residential’s earnings have remained steady so far in 2025, despite leadership changes and some job uncertainty in its markets.

The multifamily real estate investment trust owns or has investments in 319 properties consisting of 86,422 apartment units, distributed between the firm’s long-established markets such as Boston, New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California and Washington, D.C., as well as markets it has recently expanded into, including Denver, Atlanta, Dallas and Austin.

Equity reported funds from operations (FFO) of 98 cents per diluted share during the second quarter of 2025, an increase from the 94 cents reported the previous quarter and the same period last year, according to Equity’s second-quarter earnings report released Tuesday.

In addition, Equity’s same-store revenue increased 2.7 percent in the second quarter from the same time in 2024, and its net operating income rose 2.3 percent over the period as well, the report shows.

“We are seeing sustained demand and a financially resilient customer across all our markets, with new supply levels the main determinant of market revenue performance,” Mark Parrell, president and CEO at Equity, said in a statement Tuesday.

“Equity Residential’s unique exposure to the low supply urban centers of New York and San Francisco are driving current period results, and demonstrate the benefits of our portfolio’s diversification between urban and suburban submarkets in both our coastal established markets and high-demand expansion markets,” Parrell added.

The solid earnings come as Equity anticipates some leadership changes in the near future. Robert Garechana will move from his current role as the company’s chief financial officer to a new role as chief investment officer, while current chief investment officer Alexander Brackenridge will retire by the end of 2025, according to a June release. Bret McLeod will join the company as its new chief financial officer.

In a Tuesday morning earnings call, the Equity leaders also discussed how job uncertainty is affecting renters in its core markets such as Washington D.C., where federal workers are being laid off, and Los Angeles, where both job growth and the entertainment sector are weakening.

“D.C. and L.A. continue to be the headline risk markets, and we need to be paying attention to it,” Michael Manelis, chief operating officer at Equity, said during the earnings call.

There was good news on the acquisition front for Equity. As part of its effort to invest more in its expansion markets, the REIT acquired an eight-property, 2,064-unit portfolio in suburban Atlanta for approximately $533.8 million during the second quarter, according to the report.

And, as a large residential owner in New York City with roughly 6,670 apartment units over 26 properties, the Equity leaders had a bit to say about the upcoming mayoral election in the city.

“Zohran Mamdani has spoken frequently about needing to increase the housing supply in New York for New Yorkers at all income levels,” Parrell said during the earnings call. “So we have been working through the trade associations to remind him and his staff how important the private sector can be in meeting that goal.

“We think people of all political stripes are interested in improvements in quality of life and balancing both justice and personal security,” Parrell added.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.