Benjamin Schall

Publicly traded real estate investment trust AvalonBay is one of the nation’s largest owners of apartments, with almost 100,000 units in its portfolio nationwide.

The company, run by Benjamin Schall since 2022, has spent the past year looking to greatly expand on those numbers. 

“We had 13 new construction starts in 2025 — one of our most active development years in company history,” AvalonBay said in a statement. “Our balance sheet strength allowed us to start $1.65 billion in new development at attractive projected returns north of 6 percent. We ended the year with 24 projects under construction, representing approximately $3.5 billion of development underway.”

AvalonBay described the ongoing projects as occurring in “100 percent suburban and predominantly coastal gateway markets.”

The company is also investing heavily in AI, seeking to streamline the resident experience by way of technology.

“We’re strengthening our digital-first customer interactions by testing AI-driven renewals and collections capabilities, scaling self-guided touring to over 200 communities, and centralizing more of the touring, leasing and move-in processes,” said the company about what it describes as “fundamentally changing how we compete over the next decade.”

“The goal is a seamless experience for residents at every touchpoint, backed by smarter, faster operations behind the scenes,” said the company.

The company’s funds from operations (FFO) per share, a key metric for REITs, saw a 3.8 percent bump in 2025, up to $11.40 from $10.98 in 2024.

According to a company release, 2025 saw AvalonBay complete the development of “four wholly owned communities containing an aggregate of 1,320 apartment homes and 32,000 square feet of commercial space,” as well as begin the construction of 11 apartment communities and expand the development of two others. In total, these communities are “expected to contain an aggregate of 3,888 apartment homes and 42,000 square feet of commercial space.”

The company also sold nine communities in 2025 for a total of $811.7 million, and acquired 12 communities for a total of $841.9 million. It sold a further $341 million in apartment complexes in the first quarter of 2026. In the first quarter, too, AvalonBay recorded $398.7 million, or $2.83 per share in FFO, up above analysts’ expectations of $2.80 per share.