Mark Parrell

Equity Residential exercises notable restraint in its growth tactics, particularly for a real estate investment trust on the S&P 500, but its incremental strategy has kept the firm stable during the currently volatile market, if not thriving. 

The firm is one of the largest owners of apartment buildings in the U.S., with a current roster of 299 properties comprising 79,688 units, mostly in major cities along the East and West coasts, according to its first-quarter earnings report. 

While the amount of properties the firm owns is slightly below the figure reported in the first quarter of last year, Equity has taken advantage of high demand for multi-
family assets these days with a number of high-dollar sales over the past year. The firm sold 11 properties, consisting of 912 units, for a combined $380 million throughout 2023, representing a 5.5 percent profit, per its final earnings report for last year. In the first quarter of 2023, it sold an additional three properties with a total of 504 units — in Boston, Orange County, Calif., and in San Francisco — for $248.5 million, also at a 5.5 percent profit. 

Meanwhile, it purchased just four properties last year for $366.3 million totaling 1,183 units. The firm also has a number of development projects in the pipeline: The Basin, a 440-unit property in Wakefield, Mass., and the 225-unit Laguna Clara II in Santa Clara, Calif., along with six more unconsolidated projects in Texas, Colorado and New York. 

All of this to say that Equity Residential is slowly but surely increasing its revenue stream from those apartments, particularly due to high demand at the moment — a climb of 4.1 percent year-over-year to be exact, per its first-quarter earnings report. 

“Our operating business performed very well this quarter, positioning us favorably as we enter our primary leasing season,” Mark Parrell told shareholders in a recent earnings letter. “The positive demand dynamics in our affluent renter demographic, limited new apartment supply in our existing predominantly coastal markets, and our laser focus on expense management continue to produce good results.”