EQR Shows Optimism
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As earnings calls go, this was marathon. On it's 1.5-hour conference call, Chicago-based Equity Residential (EQR) sounded an optimistic, aggressive tone for the year. After watching rents fall, the company is seeing stability and even a slightly uptick in some areas. It expects Boston, Washington, D.C., and South Florida, of all places, to lead the charge. Still, for the year, it expects rents to fall 2.9 percent, though an increase in occupancy should help offset that.
"We're expecting the picture to improve a little bit as the year progresses," said David Neithercut, CEO of the REIT.
Where EQR is making its real mark is acquisitions, though. After buying an Arlington, Va., high rise and announcing a deal to buy three properties in New York, it continues on the assault. It plans to build a 111-unit project on a plot of land it holds a lease on in the Chelsea section of New York City. Construction could begin as early as the second quarter of 2010. It's also making more purchases in the Washington, D.C., metro, including the Vista on Courthouse property in Arlington, Va. It's also looking to sell some assets in North Carolina and New England, but it's not just going to make future sales to generate cash. It wants to buy.
"We will sell if we can find attractive opportunities," Neithercut says.