EQUITY RESIDENTIAL — Call Transcript 2026

Great. Welcome to Citi's 2026 Global Property CEO Conference. I'm Nick Joseph, here with Eric Wolfe with Citi Research. Pleased to have with us Equity Residential CEO, Mark Parrell. Joined by his management team as well. This session is for Citi clients only. Disclosures have been made available at the corporate access desk. To ask a question, you can raise your hand and go to liveqa.com and enter code GBC26 to submit any questions. Mark, we'll turn it over to you to make any opening remarks. Tell the audience the top reason an investor should buy your stock today. We'll get into Q&A. Excellent. Thanks for having us on, Nick and Eric. We appreciate it. Just a note, we did publish a management deck on Friday, have a good operating update. I'm sure we'll have questions on that, pages 7 through 11 of that deck that we published. Just talking about the stock and the themes that we think are relevant at the moment and, you know, a note on our operations. Our guidance kind of assumes normal up and down seasonality for the year. There's no hockey stick. There's no big up at the end of the year for some job picture improvement. We do see the decline in supply as a positive thing and do feel like sentiment on the stock and in the industry will be better towards the end of the year than it certainly is now, and the forward setup on supply is outstanding. We feel like we are better positioned than our peers to drive cash to the bottom line. We're the only large apartment peer where our FFO growth number is larger than our Same-Store NOI growth number. We don't have a lot of intervening activities, whether it's overhead, non-accretive development activities, preferred or mezzanine stock programs that are winding down. We're just a very efficient operating platform that we think compounds cash flow growth for you guys year in and year out. We've also have a lot of flexibility, so we're able. Because we don't have all these other things and distractions pulling at our capital, we've been very active in repurchasing our stock. Just since the earnings call a month ago, we bought another $200 million of our stock. The company has repurchased a total of $500 million of its stock since September, using excess disposition proceeds from slower growth assets. We think we also improved our forward growth ability, and we think our portfolio is levered to the right kind of resident in this climate. We do think places like San Francisco and New York, which together are 30% of our portfolio and are running very well, those are very well operating markets for us right now, good supply-demand balance. Are also places that have the right kind of intellectual capital as we talk about AI. Those are folks that we think will be less susceptible to disruption. Finally, we see our urban exposure as uniquely positive, so we have more urban exposure than our competitors. In places like Manhattan and San Francisco, very little supply against that urban exposure and really good demand. With that, I'll turn it back to you all for Q&A. Great. Thank you for the update. You mentioned that you've been a buyer of your stock and size. You know, we've been looking at the name for a long time and been through a number of periods, whether it's COVID, European debt crisis, the GFC. You know, this time around, I think the concern is really more of a, you know, a sort of structural technology concern around job growth, and potentially what AI means for that. I guess, you know, my first question is really, you know, you've been a buyer in size. You know, how and why are you comfortable doing that, given the uncertainty of the environment right now? Well, it's particularly easy, we think, Eric, to do that when you're selling these lower growth assets and just sort of arbitraging the private and public markets. We've sold the assets towards, pardon me, the end of last year. We sold $400 million on December 30th of these slower growth assets. A Hoboken asset just about to go under rent control, a downtown L.A. asset, a downtown Seattle asset. We were overexposed or had capital issues with the properties, turn around and buy our stock. That felt like an easy decision for us as a board and as a management team. I think the bigger decision will be leaning in with debt. If you start using your debt capacity, you're making a different kind of call about your capital structure, and we haven't done that yet. You mentioned that you were levered to the right sort of type of tenants. Maybe talk about that for a second about the ability of your tenant base to sort of absorb further increases going forward as supply comes down. I know that you don't have like, you know, a bunch of, like, student housing or just right after sort of entry-level housing for recent college grads. I guess to what extent do you think that some of unemployment among some of those younger cohorts, those that are having difficulty finding jobs out of college is impacting your results? Well, maybe I'll just start with just kind of rent-to-income ratio or how we think about kind of the financial health of our resident base. Really what we've seen not only in the fourth quarter of last year, but even in the beginning of 2026 here, is the financial health of our resident base remains very strong. Rent-to-income ratios are just under 20% for those residents moving in. We see no signs of distress right now. People aren't coming into the office turning in their keys. They're not asking to transfer mid-lease to a lower price, smaller unit. We don't see any change in delinquency. For us, we see a confidence that clearly has some ambiguity going forward with job security and things like that tends to have them bunker down, not make a lot of life decisions. We feel very promising around just that rent-to-income ratio that as the year progresses and as the pressure from competitive supply kind of wanes in many of our markets, that they will be able to absorb kind of nominal rent increases upon renewal. Can I hit just one other theme? 'Cause you kind of implied that, Eric. Just why do we feel good about the stock, given all the cycles the industry's been through? It's really the stocks have all been kicked around, ours and our peers. The supply picture is certainly uniquely positive and certain, right? We know what those numbers are. We know they're going down significantly, and that's helpful to us. We also know the country is structurally under-housed. I mean, we're 96.6% occupied at a relatively quiet time of the year. It won't take a lot of good news for us to put up better numbers than the midpoint of our guidance. I'd also tell you, we are a stock we feel like that has very little obsolescence risk. There are things that AI may change or like the way we all conduct our lives, but people will still need a place to live, and we provide that. Because we're diverse enough, we're not all Sun Belt, we're not all coastal, we're not all suburban. We're a little bit of both. We think having that balanced portfolio, we were made for this moment. We were made to have this balanced portfolio that isn't subject to any one risk and that we can just consistently compound cash flow on top of an efficient operating platform. That was the vision we started in 2018 when we did the diversification play. To be honest, we didn't plan on any of these things happening. Our numbers in the peer group look really good, even though they're not on an absolute basis as high as we'd like. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like tenants that are moving in today are perhaps, you know, price sensitive, you know, shopping around. There's some options on the supply side. Your existing tenant base, those that have already moved in, you know, they're renewing at a record rate, sometimes at above-market rates. I guess what explains that dichotomy, and at what point do you think you can get to sort of that sort of new tenant moving in or market rates, however you wanna define it, start seeing more meaningful upward, sort of movement? Well, I think I would start, and it starts with just an excellent customer service operating platform. That, that drives a lot of the strong retention that we've seen. The other thing I would say is looking back into 2025, when consumer sentiment kind of starts to weaken or confidence weakens, the resident base tends to bunker down. They just don't make a lot of life changes decisions, and that actually improves kind of the overall turnover or reduces the turnover in the portfolio. In terms of, like, that spread and what we're seeing and kinda how that plays out, so as the year progresses and you see less and less competitive new supply, the options for existing residents to move and go get an attractive concession or deal in that marketplace is starting to become less and less. My guess is what you're going to see is some improved performance in the retention side of the equation just because there's just less optionality for those residents. Ultimately, as we start seeing less and less competitive pressure, less concessions in the marketplace, that probably drives kind of that net effective prices to be more in line with a normal rent seasonality curve, which compared to 2025 would equate to more pricing power in 2026 versus what we had in 2025. I think you all published one of the more sort of helpful charts, in terms of your pricing trend. I know it's early in the year, can you maybe walk us through sort of what you've seen thus far, you know, sort of why you're confident right now that you're following a sort of normal seasonal trend? Yeah. You're referring, it's page 11 in the management presentation that we posted on Friday. Basically, this is just a normal typical rent seasonality curve is a dotted line that we show how rents are gonna trend from the beginning of the year through the peak leasing season and ultimately decelerating through the third and fourth quarter of the year. Right now we have a line in there that shows our net effective pricing from the beginning of the year to basically last week, and it's kinda right in line with what you would typically expect rents to be doing, which is sequentially week after week, we're putting through increases as we prepare the portfolio for the spring and peak leasing season. When we're 96.6% occupied, we have confidence to kinda keep our foot on that gas and keep pressure testing that rate. We're also coming up against a period where in many of the markets we operate in, we do see less pressure from supply, so we do start to see more pricing power. I could use an example like San Francisco right now, where we're using a lot of concessions this time last year, and we have zero concessions in the marketplace today. Every market's gonna have a little bit of a nuance or a little bit of a story to it. In our minds and what we're seeing so far year-to-date, the portfolio is positioned well from an occupancy standpoint. We're not seeing any signs of distress from our resident base. We continue to see strong retention, good renewal conversations for even the renewals that are out in the marketplace for the next three months. That tells us that we should expect a normal kind of rent seasonality trend. Can we just follow up on that last part? Where are renewals, you know, going out? I think as part of your, you know, Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but part of your revenue management system, you sort of have a projection of your lease exposure and where sort of occupancy might go based on sort of current retention. Can you just talk about sort of what those forward indicators are telling you and where renewals are going out today? Sure. Actually, we put a page in the book, I think it was page 46 in the management presentation, 'cause that is a proprietary kind of pricing engine that we created that handles about 60% of our transactions, which are the renewals. This system generates kind of the quotes that go out. It also. We have a centralized renewal team. It modifies and puts screens in front of those individuals on how to negotiate kind of based on market conditions, that they see real time. Today, our quotes in the marketplace are somewhere around a net effective 6% increase, and we have a high degree of confidence for the next kinda 90 days, which is where those quotes are out there, that we'll achieve about a 4.5% increase. Got it. net, so the kind of 150 basis points of similar, I think what you discussed before in terms of negotiation after. Yes. Okay. Yeah. You mentioned the proprietary revenue system. I think, you know, we have some questions we'll ask on AI in a moment, but I was just curious, you know, how much has that sort of system changed over the last couple of years? You know, as you think going forward, whether it's incorporating, AI or other advancements in it, like, do you see that system sort of materially changing going forward? Well, I think in terms of technology in general, I think the technology's advancing very quickly out there, and the opportunities to layer in AI into the day-to-day operations, it's really exciting. I mean, we're creating a foundation of operating efficiency that the industry has not seen before. I was just in D.C. last week. We're deploying a new AI-enabled CRM and service application that we have a high degree of confidence will create the operating efficiency and deliver a more seamless customer experience to our resident base. I think as we think about technology going forward, we are gonna focus, and we're gonna build the things that can help us differentiate. Like the example I used on renewal pricing, our website, things like that that we can truly differentiate. When it comes to layering in the AI kind of components into applications, there's some great products in the marketplace, and these companies have teams of people that wake up and just think about that one part of the business. It's hard for us to build something and keep up and compete with that. We're really excited about these opportunities that we see in the marketplace to license software and build our own expertise in-house to go differentiate on pockets of how we run the business. I just wanna clarify, being a big platform really helps. We don't use and have never used really outside information. Even in Atlanta, we have, you know, 5,000, 6,000 units. When you have that kind, you can see one property's rents moving one direction, another property. You can use that to price your one-bedrooms, your twos, 'cause that's another way pricing has changed. It's become much more inward-looking. So people are developing their own systems, looking at their own properties. Having big portfolios in all our markets but Austin is very helpful in that endeavor because we never really relied on other people's pricing, and we do so even less now. That's helpful. As you think about that AI deployment, you know, where else are you seeing the efficiencies? Maybe either on the expense side or using it towards capital allocation, just more broadly across the organization beyond kind of what you just touched on on the revenue management. I think it's clearly going into the buy, you know, the... You wanna go, Bob? Yeah. I think it's permeating kind of throughout the organization in all the areas that you outlined. You know, I think early, you know, our early adoption was largely focused on some of the leasing activities and prospect activities, etc., but now you're seeing that increasingly in both capital allocation and underwriting analysis in location and market selection and all those areas, and you're also seeing it in the back office, right? Mm-hmm. You're seeing that impact line items like property management and G&A as well. We have a pretty robust approach overall and try to identify use cases and what the value proposition is and target those use cases against the value proposition. I think it's, I think as probably everyone in this room is experiencing, there is use cases and impacts across organizations. Mark, I think over the history of EQR, you've been thoughtful of exiting different markets, moving into different markets based off of where your customers are and where you think they're going. AI's obviously impacting sentiment and the economy broadly. How does that inform or, you know, how do you think through maybe either new markets or lightening up on markets, you know, based off of the potential ramifications of AI on white-collar job and the economy broadly? Yeah, that's a great question. I want to admit to a great deal of modesty about what the answer really is, Nick, at the end. I will talk about a little thought experiment that we've been doing here as a management team. We do have exposure. We have properties in and around Frisco, Texas, which is a North Dallas suburb. One of the big insurance companies has a big service center there, thousands of employees. They process claims. Okay, what's the AI impact on that employment? We think on that, and we compare that to our very significant exposure in San Francisco, where you're tied in with a higher earner knowledge worker who may be working at OpenAI or may be working at all the things that sit on top of those LLMs and try to create products, as Michael discussed a minute ago. We've tried to think which of those in our experience would be more susceptible to, you know, disruption. I guess our really preliminary, I call it hypothesis at this point, is San Francisco and New York, where you have these very high-end knowledge workers and high housing prices, so they stay renters longer. Feels better to me. It feels like those folks have changed. If you think about the GFC pre-New York, financial services was a much higher percentage of total employment than it is now, and people morphed and spread and did other things, and total employment is higher. San Francisco in my career has been through Internet 1.0 bust to social media bust. I mean, been through and it reinvents itself, and it's doing it again with AI. I don't imply that Frisco is not gonna have employment. Dallas is a giant metro, Americans are very good at figuring out how to make money. I do worry about some of those jobs and the speed, Nick, of the disruption. If it happens quickly, it could be more problematic. If it happens over time. My bet is it happens slowly. That it isn't the tools that are the problem, it's rolling those tools out, getting your employees and your customers to use them. Inside our company, the big spend has been, for example, on technology, but also change management people in HR because we need to teach our teams how to think differently. We all need to think differently. My instinct is it'll happen slower than we think, than it feels, than the talk shops would have us believe. I think the places with very high-end knowledge workers are probably less exposed and are used to transforming themselves to the next big thing. Is it impacting your hiring at all? How you think about hiring? Well, our IT department is slowly taking over our office. I would say that's part of it. Yes, there are reductions across. I mean, Michael, your headcount reductions in property management. Why don't you talk about those for a minute? Yeah. I think the first wave of innovation that we introduced through the company in the last four years or so was about a 20% headcount reduction. I think layering in this next tranche of AI-enabled, we'll probably see another 10%-15% reduction, and that's not just on-site. That includes some of the centralization processes that we put in place as well. I'll tell you, the folks that are in the AI and engineers that may be losing their job, we'll hire them because that's the group that we're trying to build out, right? That's the expertise that as an industry we have had a challenge for the last five years of attracting that kind of talent. Now what you see is this opportunity to build the use cases, like Bob said, build out kinda high-performing data and analytics team. That's exciting to some of those individuals. I think we see it as an opportunity for us as well. Maybe we could just use an example. Maybe Bob, you could talk about Block, our exposure to them, and then what happened a couple years ago when all the tech firms shrunk- Yeah ... post COVID. Obviously there's been a large narrative around Block and the announcement on Block and a lot of discussion about whether or not that's truly AI related or frankly just, you know, some over-hiring, et cetera. Our portfolio exposure is very minimal, as you might expect. We have like 19 residents that are employed at Block. To the best of our knowledge, they may still be employed at Block. We don't know necessarily if they are or not. It's pretty dispersed as well. It was actually dispersed across 6 MSAs. I think it's difficult to make a single-threaded narrative around, you know, whether it's AI that's disintermediating or just adjustments like we saw and Mark alluded to in 2022. In 2022, we saw significant amounts of kind of post-pandemic hiring or kind of during the pandemic hiring by the tech space. You saw a lot of job creation and then an adjustment, a right-sizing, right? That certainly may have impacted like top-of-funnel demand in certain markets. Overall, we continued to go, you know, execute through. As Michael alluded to earlier, as we sit here today, San Francisco is probably our strongest market, where we see the best pricing power that we've seen in a number of years. I think it's a, it's a multivariable equation with a number of puts and takes when we think about what the workforce could look like going forward. I mean, San Francisco's at the center of this really debate, right? Nothing within San Francisco that you've seen, thus far would say that, you know, a certain percentage of your tenants are being, you know, displaced, at least at this moment. 'Cause I think the fear is that, you know, it's a digital profession. Might be a little bit easier to transition, especially since they're at the front end of technology, you're not seeing anything like that. I think it's actually the opposite for us, that even the folks that are losing their jobs, and what we don't see with some of the kinda public job data, is what's really happening in the ecosystem of San Francisco, which is the 6 and 10-person company that's being created on top of using these, you know, large language models that are developing the next round of products and services to come approach companies like us saying they got the next best solution. We see a lot of activity right now that people that are still in migration into the market. There's definitely a buzz still, and I think even though we're seeing some of the headlines, we're just not seeing anything in terms of resident kinda distress or turning in keys. We actually see more of the frenzy still taking place. Moving beyond San Francisco, I think internally you guys might have a bet going on which markets outperform or underperform. Sort of curious who's winning that bet thus far if there's certain markets that are exhibiting, you know, a little bit more strength versus lower, better demand versus worse? Well, if we have an internal bet. I don't like to bet against the guy who's got the best information. Yeah. I don't bet against my guy. I think, look, I think sitting here today, I would tell you that the two markets that have the most pronounced rent seasonality, which is for us Boston and Seattle, are trending a little bit behind what I would say is a normal rent seasonality curve. To be fair, Boston for the last month has been pounded on with snow and cold weather. You know, I want to see how does this market react in the next couple of weeks. Somebody told me it's going to be 60 degrees, and we'll see if there's kind of this pent-up demand coming. It's a very early time in the year right now. We don't write a lot of leases. We don't have a lot of leases expiring. But those two markets right now, if I was just putting into my beginning of the year expectation, how I would think they would trend, are both kind of a little bit lagging. Seattle, I would say it's got pockets of strength, pockets of weakness. It's a market that tends to move very quickly. It's also a market that we've seen in previous cycles tends to kind of lag San Francisco about one to, you know, 12-18 months behind, good or bad. I think what we're seeing right now is the setup feels right for Seattle. It just hasn't kind of taken hold like we would have expected it to so far. In Boston, I think weather is playing into this a little bit. No change in the expectation for us in Boston that the urban is going to outperform suburban. We just have so much little supply coming at us in the city of Boston that I think we're going to have a little bit more pricing power. Outside of that, the rest of these markets are just kind of trending right where you thought they would be trending. If we use sort of D.C. as like a case study for maybe a market that underperformed in the back half of the year, you know, had sort of a little bit lower demand profile, more uncertainty in that market, I guess how long do you think it takes to sort of work through, you know, not really the demand side, but whatever sort of leftover supply there is there, meaning that, you know, this is a market that where supply is coming down by 60% year-over-year, but you're probably still dealing with some lease-ups there and that sort of lower demand profile? How quickly can you sort of move through that and then start seeing a bit more strength on the other side of it when supply comes down? Yeah. I was just in the market last week. Again, that market, depending on where you are, Northern Virginia feels better than the District, better than the Upper Northwest Corridor. I think we're probably looking somewhere into this back half of this year where it's like very obvious that there is just a significant drop-off in competitive pressure, very obvious that concession start to kind of lower in the marketplace. My guess is we still got six months of an overhang. A lot of this is going to depend too on how strong the spring leasing season, how strong the initial peak leasing season is and the demand side of the equation to aid some of the absorption of the units that were delivered last year. I think with 62% drop-off, I mean, we're going from a market that's delivered 12,000 units a year for the last decade to like 4,000 units. They haven't delivered that few of units probably in two decades. I think it's inevitable unless you tell me demand's dropping off that more pricing power is returning to that market. Maybe in terms of turnover, you know, one fear that I get sometimes from investors is that retention's been so good that there's this fear that there's going to be more people moving out to purchase homes as interest rates presumably come down, as there's more sort of stimulative policies around the housing market. I guess based on everything that's been announced thus far, I mean, I guess are you seeing any of that in your data? Are there any policies out there that have been proposed where you're like, you know what, I really hope we don't see that because that can make a sort of big difference in our retention or turnover? Yeah. Thanks for that question. That's probably not a risk to our company. I mean, the portfolio was designed to be in places with relatively high single-family housing costs. Down payments matter a lot. I think as rates go down, you may end up capitalizing those rate declines in a higher purchase price. Insurance, all those other things continue to be really expensive. Again, lifestyle factors are different. We saw about 7% of our residents move out to buy homes. That was a record low for us. When it was higher, it was 10%-12%. It just is not likely to be a reason for us to feel uncomfortable. I think it's more about jobs for us than it is about single family. Switching over to capital allocation, you know, we've talked about, you know, the implications of AI for your portfolio. I guess, are you seeing any sort of signs of changes of underwriting on the private side? Meaning, is this something that people are factoring into their expectations? Not necessarily even from AI, but also just because we've seen a little bit lower job growth. On the other side of that, you know, assuming your answer is you're not seeing it, you know, I guess how aggressive can you be this year in terms of selling these non-core properties? As you mentioned before, there is a pretty big difference between where you're trading and where some of even your lower quality stuff is trading. Yeah. Thanks, Eric. I'll start on the underwriting side. In the private markets, we do see, we continue to see pretty aggressive underwriting, meaning we don't see a negative impact in terms of demand. In pockets, we see very aggressive recoveries underwritten. Like in markets like in Austin, we often see folks underwriting recovery levels, you know, Austin being in a market that has significant supply that are pretty pronounced. Generally speaking, the private markets for multifamily remain very liquid. Cap rates tend to surround somewhere like a 4.75%-5.25%. The implication if you're solving to an IRR that's maybe in the low sevens, which I think is where most people are solving on levered, is that you see good demand and good rental growth coming in the near term. We don't really see a lot of change there. In terms of our ability to sell some of the lower performing assets, I think that there continues to be pretty good bids. They're a little harder than, you know, down the middle of the fairway stuff. It may not be as, you know, robust a bidding tense, which may mean that you have to expose a few more markets or take a little bit more time to get the transaction to work. I think that we will continue to do that. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot to expose. We will see how that goes as we make it through the year. I mean, we're open to doing more buybacks. We don't feel like there's a limit on that necessarily. We just have to look at our other capital options. I mean, what our acquisition's trading at. They're trading really dear right now. We got a couple development deals we may start. You know, the stock is a pretty good value at this point. If we can arbitrage it with lower quality asset sales, I think that's making lemonade out of lemons and is a good play. Are you willing to let leverage lift up a little bit just because of the limitations on the tax side from sales? Yes. I think the limit there though, or the thing to think about is we can probably do several hundred million dollars of that without any impact on credit ratings and the like. You can only do that once. Once you've used up that capacity, then you're making a capital structure decision. I think, Eric, it's just what's the hurdle price for that? 'Cause when you're arbitraging existing assets with your stock, I think subject to the tax issues, that's a little bit easier trade. When you're taking debt, you're changing your opportunity set, you're potentially putting more risk. You know, there's probably a frankly a stock price you need, that needs to be lower to justify that. You mentioned development a moment ago. I don't know if that's sort of... I think you might have a couple projects in Atlanta. I guess my question is sort of why now, I guess, for that specific market? Then more broadly across development, you know, we've heard, you know, for years that it's just very difficult to start development right now. Construction costs are high, rental rates haven't moved enough. You know, is that changing at all? I mean, it seems like construction costs might, you know, have been come down. From your peers, some have said sort of in the 5%-10% range, but would be curious what you've seen as well. Yeah. I mean, Bob may supplement this. We're very selective on development. We started a couple of deals in Atlanta. We mentioned that on the call. One of them is an ex-urban small deal where frankly it's a bit of an experiment with a lower amenitized product in a further out location. It's not a build to rent deal, but it has attributes of that. Another one is an infill deal that just has really good economics in the northern Atlanta suburbs that we picked up. I mean, Bob's team sifts through 50 deals to talk to him about 10, to talk to me about one. We're a very selective developer, and the hurdle rate, Eric, is just a lot higher than it was because the stock's trading where it's trading. Got it. Are you seeing construction costs coming down? Yeah. I think selectively you are seeing, as there's lower volume of development, you are seeing developers and general contractors reduce their margin. Correspondingly, you're seeing construction costs coming down slightly, particularly in product that's more like wrap product and suburban product. As it relates to high rise, which you're just not seeing any starts on and construction costs remaining very high relative to acquisitions, there you're not seeing it as much. In the suburban stuff you're maybe seeing that, you know, low single-digit reduction in costs selectively. Supply's coming down, you know, very quickly this year. How long will it stay at these very low levels? Depends what market you're talking about. I mean, that's why we like our urban exposure. We think there's just not a lot of high rise construction that's gonna make sense. We think a lot of these markets are gonna have a longer hiatus. I remind everyone, post GFC, everyone said there would never be anything built in the coastal markets, unfortunately for us, there was plenty built in the coastal markets. There will be plenty built in the Sun Belt, there'll be plenty built in the suburbs. I just think that, you know, we get these lists from these developers of assets that we can jump in JVs with them on, and that list is all suburban, and our competitors are building all suburban, so that's telling you something about where the supply's gonna be. we think that balanced portfolio with the urban exposure's gonna serve us well. Great. We have our 2 rapid fire questions to end the session. Same-Store NOI growth for the apartment sector overall next year in 2027? We don't provide guidance on 2027. It's for the sector. Sector overall. Luckily it's not guidance for you. Yeah. broad sector. I think we're not providing or giving any commentary on 2027. What are you underwriting in your models for 2027? Bob? Depends on the market. More, fewer or the same number of public apartment companies a year from now. I feel like that might be a relatively easy question this year 'cause there's already some announced, go private. I'm gonna say fewer, and I think I'm gonna be right this time. Sounds good. When you repurchase your stock, what NOI growth are you using for 2027? Asked and answered, counselor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 4: Great. Welcome to Citi's 2026 Global Property CEO Conference. I'm Nick Joseph, here with Eric Wolfe with Citi Research. Pleased to have with us Equity Residential CEO, Mark Parrell. Joined by his management team as well. This session is for Citi clients only. Disclosures have been made available at the corporate access desk. To ask a question, you can raise your hand and go to liveqa.com and enter code GBC26 to submit any questions. Mark, we'll turn it over to you to make any opening remarks. Tell the audience the top reason an investor should buy your stock today. We'll get into Q&A. Great. great Welcome to Citi's 2026 Global Property CEO Conference. welcome to citi's 2026 global property ceo conference I'm Nick Joseph, here with Eric Wolfe with Citi Research. i'm nick joseph here with eric wolfe with citi research Pleased to have with us Equity Residential CEO, Mark Parrell. pleased to have with us equity residential ceo mark parrell Joined by his management team as well. joined by his management team as well This session is for Citi clients only. this session is for citi clients only Disclosures have been made available at the corporate access desk. disclosures have been made available at the corporate access desk To ask a question, you can raise your hand and go to liveqa.com and enter code GBC26 to submit any questions. to ask a question you can raise your hand and go to liveqa.com and enter code gbc26 to submit any questions Mark, we'll turn it over to you to make any opening remarks. mark we'll turn it over to you to make any opening remarks Tell the audience the top reason an investor should buy your stock today. tell the audience the top reason an investor should buy your stock today We'll get into Q&A. we'll get into q&a

Speaker 2: Excellent. Thanks for having us on, Nick and Eric. We appreciate it. Just a note, we did publish a management deck on Friday, have a good operating update. I'm sure we'll have questions on that, pages 7 through 11 of that deck that we published. Just talking about the stock and the themes that we think are relevant at the moment and, you know, a note on our operations. Our guidance kind of assumes normal up and down seasonality for the year. There's no hockey stick. There's no big up at the end of the year for some job picture improvement. Excellent. excellent Thanks for having us on, Nick and Eric. thanks for having us on nick and eric We appreciate it. we appreciate it Just a note, we did publish a management deck on Friday, have a good operating update. just a note we did publish a management deck on friday have a good operating update I'm sure we'll have questions on that, pages 7 through 11 of that deck that we published. i'm sure we'll have questions on that pages 7 through 11 of that deck that we published Just talking about the stock and the themes that we think are relevant at the moment and, you know, a note on our operations. just talking about the stock and the themes that we think are relevant at the moment and you know a note on our operations Our guidance kind of assumes normal up and down seasonality for the year. our guidance kind of assumes normal up and down seasonality for the year There's no hockey stick. there's no hockey stick There's no big up at the end of the year for some job picture improvement. there's no big up at the end of the year for some job picture improvement We do see the decline in supply as a positive thing and do feel like sentiment on the stock and in the industry will be better towards the end of the year than it certainly is now, and the forward setup on supply is outstanding. We feel like we are better positioned than our peers to drive cash to the bottom line. We're the only large apartment peer where our FFO growth number is larger than our Same-Store NOI growth number. We don't have a lot of intervening activities, whether it's overhead, non-accretive development activities, preferred or mezzanine stock programs that are winding down. We're just a very efficient operating platform that we think compounds cash flow growth for you guys year in and year out. We've also have a lot of flexibility, so we're able. We do see the decline in supply as a positive thing and do feel like sentiment on the stock and in the industry will be better towards the end of the year than it certainly is now, and the forward setup on supply is outstanding. we do see the decline in supply as a positive thing and do feel like sentiment on the stock and in the industry will be better towards the end of the year than it certainly is now and the forward setup on supply is outstanding We feel like we are better positioned than our peers to drive cash to the bottom line. we feel like we are better positioned than our peers to drive cash to the bottom line We're the only large apartment peer where our FFO growth number is larger than our Same-Store NOI growth number. we're the only large apartment peer where our ffo growth number is larger than our same-store noi growth number We don't have a lot of intervening activities, whether it's overhead, non-accretive development activities, preferred or mezzanine stock programs that are winding down. we don't have a lot of intervening activities whether it's overhead non-accretive development activities preferred or mezzanine stock programs that are winding down We're just a very efficient operating platform that we think compounds cash flow growth for you guys year in and year out. we're just a very efficient operating platform that we think compounds cash flow growth for you guys year in and year out We've also have a lot of flexibility, so we're able. we've also have a lot of flexibility so we're able Because we don't have all these other things and distractions pulling at our capital, we've been very active in repurchasing our stock. Just since the earnings call a month ago, we bought another $200 million of our stock. The company has repurchased a total of $500 million of its stock since September, using excess disposition proceeds from slower growth assets. We think we also improved our forward growth ability, and we think our portfolio is levered to the right kind of resident in this climate. We do think places like San Francisco and New York, which together are 30% of our portfolio and are running very well, those are very well operating markets for us right now, good supply-demand balance. Are also places that have the right kind of intellectual capital as we talk about AI. Because we don't have all these other things and distractions pulling at our capital, we've been very active in repurchasing our stock. because we don't have all these other things and distractions pulling at our capital we've been very active in repurchasing our stock Just since the earnings call a month ago, we bought another $200 million of our stock. just since the earnings call a month ago we bought another $200 million of our stock The company has repurchased a total of $500 million of its stock since September, using excess disposition proceeds from slower growth assets. the company has repurchased a total of $500 million of its stock since september using excess disposition proceeds from slower growth assets We think we also improved our forward growth ability, and we think our portfolio is levered to the right kind of resident in this climate. we think we also improved our forward growth ability and we think our portfolio is levered to the right kind of resident in this climate We do think places like San Francisco and New York, which together are 30% of our portfolio and are running very well, those are very well operating markets for us right now, good supply-demand balance. we do think places like san francisco and new york which together are 30% of our portfolio and are running very well those are very well operating markets for us right now good supply-demand balance Are also places that have the right kind of intellectual capital as we talk about AI. are also places that have the right kind of intellectual capital as we talk about ai Those are folks that we think will be less susceptible to disruption. Finally, we see our urban exposure as uniquely positive, so we have more urban exposure than our competitors. In places like Manhattan and San Francisco, very little supply against that urban exposure and really good demand. With that, I'll turn it back to you all for Q&A. Those are folks that we think will be less susceptible to disruption. those are folks that we think will be less susceptible to disruption Finally, we see our urban exposure as uniquely positive, so we have more urban exposure than our competitors. finally we see our urban exposure as uniquely positive so we have more urban exposure than our competitors In places like Manhattan and San Francisco, very little supply against that urban exposure and really good demand. in places like manhattan and san francisco very little supply against that urban exposure and really good demand With that, I'll turn it back to you all for Q&A. with that i'll turn it back to you all for q&a

Speaker 4: Great. Thank you for the update. You mentioned that you've been a buyer of your stock and size. You know, we've been looking at the name for a long time and been through a number of periods, whether it's COVID, European debt crisis, the GFC. You know, this time around, I think the concern is really more of a, you know, a sort of structural technology concern around job growth, and potentially what AI means for that. I guess, you know, my first question is really, you know, you've been a buyer in size. You know, how and why are you comfortable doing that, given the uncertainty of the environment right now? Great. great Thank you for the update. thank you for the update You mentioned that you've been a buyer of your stock and size. you mentioned that you've been a buyer of your stock and size You know, we've been looking at the name for a long time and been through a number of periods, whether it's COVID, European debt crisis, the GFC. you know we've been looking at the name for a long time and been through a number of periods whether it's covid european debt crisis the gfc You know, this time around, I think the concern is really more of a, you know, a sort of structural technology concern around job growth, and potentially what AI means for that. you know this time around i think the concern is really more of a you know a sort of structural technology concern around job growth and potentially what ai means for that I guess, you know, my first question is really, you know, you've been a buyer in size. i guess you know my first question is really you know you've been a buyer in size You know, how and why are you comfortable doing that, given the uncertainty of the environment right now? you know how and why are you comfortable doing that given the uncertainty of the environment right now

Speaker 2: Well, it's particularly easy, we think, Eric, to do that when you're selling these lower growth assets and just sort of arbitraging the private and public markets. We've sold the assets towards, pardon me, the end of last year. We sold $400 million on December 30th of these slower growth assets. A Hoboken asset just about to go under rent control, a downtown L.A. asset, a downtown Seattle asset. We were overexposed or had capital issues with the properties, turn around and buy our stock. That felt like an easy decision for us as a board and as a management team. I think the bigger decision will be leaning in with debt. If you start using your debt capacity, you're making a different kind of call about your capital structure, and we haven't done that yet. Well, it's particularly easy, we think, Eric, to do that when you're selling these lower growth assets and just sort of arbitraging the private and public markets. well it's particularly easy we think eric to do that when you're selling these lower growth assets and just sort of arbitraging the private and public markets We've sold the assets towards, pardon me, the end of last year. we've sold the assets towards pardon me the end of last year We sold $400 million on December 30th of these slower growth assets. we sold $400 million on december 30th of these slower growth assets A Hoboken asset just about to go under rent control, a downtown L.A. asset, a downtown Seattle asset. a hoboken asset just about to go under rent control a downtown l.a asset a downtown seattle asset We were overexposed or had capital issues with the properties, turn around and buy our stock. we were overexposed or had capital issues with the properties turn around and buy our stock That felt like an easy decision for us as a board and as a management team. that felt like an easy decision for us as a board and as a management team I think the bigger decision will be leaning in with debt. i think the bigger decision will be leaning in with debt If you start using your debt capacity, you're making a different kind of call about your capital structure, and we haven't done that yet. if you start using your debt capacity you're making a different kind of call about your capital structure and we haven't done that yet

Speaker 4: You mentioned that you were levered to the right sort of type of tenants. Maybe talk about that for a second about the ability of your tenant base to sort of absorb further increases going forward as supply comes down. I know that you don't have like, you know, a bunch of, like, student housing or just right after sort of entry-level housing for recent college grads. I guess to what extent do you think that some of unemployment among some of those younger cohorts, those that are having difficulty finding jobs out of college is impacting your results? You mentioned that you were levered to the right sort of type of tenants. you mentioned that you were levered to the right sort of type of tenants Maybe talk about that for a second about the ability of your tenant base to sort of absorb further increases going forward as supply comes down. maybe talk about that for a second about the ability of your tenant base to sort of absorb further increases going forward as supply comes down I know that you don't have like, you know, a bunch of, like, student housing or just right after sort of entry-level housing for recent college grads. i know that you don't have like you know a bunch of like student housing or just right after sort of entry-level housing for recent college grads I guess to what extent do you think that some of unemployment among some of those younger cohorts, those that are having difficulty finding jobs out of college is impacting your results? i guess to what extent do you think that some of unemployment among some of those younger cohorts those that are having difficulty finding jobs out of college is impacting your results

Speaker 3: Well, maybe I'll just start with just kind of rent-to-income ratio or how we think about kind of the financial health of our resident base. Really what we've seen not only in the fourth quarter of last year, but even in the beginning of 2026 here, is the financial health of our resident base remains very strong. Rent-to-income ratios are just under 20% for those residents moving in. We see no signs of distress right now. People aren't coming into the office turning in their keys. They're not asking to transfer mid-lease to a lower price, smaller unit. We don't see any change in delinquency. For us, we see a confidence that clearly has some ambiguity going forward with job security and things like that tends to have them bunker down, not make a lot of life decisions. Well, maybe I'll just start with just kind of rent-to-income ratio or how we think about kind of the financial health of our resident base. well maybe i'll just start with just kind of rent-to-income ratio or how we think about kind of the financial health of our resident base Really what we've seen not only in the fourth quarter of last year, but even in the beginning of 2026 here, is the financial health of our resident base remains very strong. really what we've seen not only in the fourth quarter of last year but even in the beginning of 2026 here is the financial health of our resident base remains very strong Rent-to-income ratios are just under 20% for those residents moving in. rent-to-income ratios are just under 20% for those residents moving in We see no signs of distress right now. we see no signs of distress right now People aren't coming into the office turning in their keys. people aren't coming into the office turning in their keys They're not asking to transfer mid-lease to a lower price, smaller unit. they're not asking to transfer mid-lease to a lower price smaller unit We don't see any change in delinquency. we don't see any change in delinquency For us, we see a confidence that clearly has some ambiguity going forward with job security and things like that tends to have them bunker down, not make a lot of life decisions. for us we see a confidence that clearly has some ambiguity going forward with job security and things like that tends to have them bunker down not make a lot of life decisions We feel very promising around just that rent-to-income ratio that as the year progresses and as the pressure from competitive supply kind of wanes in many of our markets, that they will be able to absorb kind of nominal rent increases upon renewal. We feel very promising around just that rent-to-income ratio that as the year progresses and as the pressure from competitive supply kind of wanes in many of our markets, that they will be able to absorb kind of nominal rent increases upon renewal. we feel very promising around just that rent-to-income ratio that as the year progresses and as the pressure from competitive supply kind of wanes in many of our markets that they will be able to absorb kind of nominal rent increases upon renewal

Speaker 2: Can I hit just one other theme? 'Cause you kind of implied that, Eric. Just why do we feel good about the stock, given all the cycles the industry's been through? It's really the stocks have all been kicked around, ours and our peers. The supply picture is certainly uniquely positive and certain, right? We know what those numbers are. We know they're going down significantly, and that's helpful to us. We also know the country is structurally under-housed. I mean, we're 96.6% occupied at a relatively quiet time of the year. It won't take a lot of good news for us to put up better numbers than the midpoint of our guidance. I'd also tell you, we are a stock we feel like that has very little obsolescence risk. Can I hit just one other theme? 'Cause you kind of implied that, Eric. can i hit just one other theme 'cause you kind of implied that eric Just why do we feel good about the stock, given all the cycles the industry's been through? just why do we feel good about the stock given all the cycles the industry's been through It's really the stocks have all been kicked around, ours and our peers. it's really the stocks have all been kicked around ours and our peers The supply picture is certainly uniquely positive and certain, right? the supply picture is certainly uniquely positive and certain right We know what those numbers are. we know what those numbers are We know they're going down significantly, and that's helpful to us. we know they're going down significantly and that's helpful to us We also know the country is structurally under-housed. we also know the country is structurally under-housed I mean, we're 96.6% occupied at a relatively quiet time of the year. i mean we're 96.6% occupied at a relatively quiet time of the year It won't take a lot of good news for us to put up better numbers than the midpoint of our guidance. it won't take a lot of good news for us to put up better numbers than the midpoint of our guidance I'd also tell you, we are a stock we feel like that has very little obsolescence risk. i'd also tell you we are a stock we feel like that has very little obsolescence risk There are things that AI may change or like the way we all conduct our lives, but people will still need a place to live, and we provide that. Because we're diverse enough, we're not all Sun Belt, we're not all coastal, we're not all suburban. We're a little bit of both. We think having that balanced portfolio, we were made for this moment. We were made to have this balanced portfolio that isn't subject to any one risk and that we can just consistently compound cash flow on top of an efficient operating platform. That was the vision we started in 2018 when we did the diversification play. To be honest, we didn't plan on any of these things happening. Our numbers in the peer group look really good, even though they're not on an absolute basis as high as we'd like. There are things that AI may change or like the way we all conduct our lives, but people will still need a place to live, and we provide that. there are things that ai may change or like the way we all conduct our lives but people will still need a place to live and we provide that Because we're diverse enough, we're not all Sun Belt, we're not all coastal, we're not all suburban. because we're diverse enough we're not all sun belt we're not all coastal we're not all suburban We're a little bit of both. we're a little bit of both We think having that balanced portfolio, we were made for this moment. we think having that balanced portfolio we were made for this moment We were made to have this balanced portfolio that isn't subject to any one risk and that we can just consistently compound cash flow on top of an efficient operating platform. we were made to have this balanced portfolio that isn't subject to any one risk and that we can just consistently compound cash flow on top of an efficient operating platform That was the vision we started in 2018 when we did the diversification play. that was the vision we started in 2018 when we did the diversification play To be honest, we didn't plan on any of these things happening. to be honest we didn't plan on any of these things happening Our numbers in the peer group look really good, even though they're not on an absolute basis as high as we'd like. our numbers in the peer group look really good even though they're not on an absolute basis as high as we'd like

Speaker 4: Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like tenants that are moving in today are perhaps, you know, price sensitive, you know, shopping around. There's some options on the supply side. Your existing tenant base, those that have already moved in, you know, they're renewing at a record rate, sometimes at above-market rates. I guess what explains that dichotomy, and at what point do you think you can get to sort of that sort of new tenant moving in or market rates, however you wanna define it, start seeing more meaningful upward, sort of movement? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like tenants that are moving in today are perhaps, you know, price sensitive, you know, shopping around. correct me if i'm wrong but it seems like tenants that are moving in today are perhaps you know price sensitive you know shopping around There's some options on the supply side. there's some options on the supply side Your existing tenant base, those that have already moved in, you know, they're renewing at a record rate, sometimes at above-market rates. your existing tenant base those that have already moved in you know they're renewing at a record rate sometimes at above-market rates I guess what explains that dichotomy, and at what point do you think you can get to sort of that sort of new tenant moving in or market rates, however you wanna define it, start seeing more meaningful upward, sort of movement? i guess what explains that dichotomy and at what point do you think you can get to sort of that sort of new tenant moving in or market rates however you wanna define it start seeing more meaningful upward sort of movement

Speaker 3: Well, I think I would start, and it starts with just an excellent customer service operating platform. That, that drives a lot of the strong retention that we've seen. The other thing I would say is looking back into 2025, when consumer sentiment kind of starts to weaken or confidence weakens, the resident base tends to bunker down. They just don't make a lot of life changes decisions, and that actually improves kind of the overall turnover or reduces the turnover in the portfolio. In terms of, like, that spread and what we're seeing and kinda how that plays out, so as the year progresses and you see less and less competitive new supply, the options for existing residents to move and go get an attractive concession or deal in that marketplace is starting to become less and less. Well, I think I would start, and it starts with just an excellent customer service operating platform. well i think i would start and it starts with just an excellent customer service operating platform That, that drives a lot of the strong retention that we've seen. that that drives a lot of the strong retention that we've seen The other thing I would say is looking back into 2025, when consumer sentiment kind of starts to weaken or confidence weakens, the resident base tends to bunker down. the other thing i would say is looking back into 2025 when consumer sentiment kind of starts to weaken or confidence weakens the resident base tends to bunker down They just don't make a lot of life changes decisions, and that actually improves kind of the overall turnover or reduces the turnover in the portfolio. they just don't make a lot of life changes decisions and that actually improves kind of the overall turnover or reduces the turnover in the portfolio In terms of, like, that spread and what we're seeing and kinda how that plays out, so as the year progresses and you see less and less competitive new supply, the options for existing residents to move and go get an attractive concession or deal in that marketplace is starting to become less and less. in terms of like that spread and what we're seeing and kinda how that plays out so as the year progresses and you see less and less competitive new supply the options for existing residents to move and go get an attractive concession or deal in that marketplace is starting to become less and less My guess is what you're going to see is some improved performance in the retention side of the equation just because there's just less optionality for those residents. Ultimately, as we start seeing less and less competitive pressure, less concessions in the marketplace, that probably drives kind of that net effective prices to be more in line with a normal rent seasonality curve, which compared to 2025 would equate to more pricing power in 2026 versus what we had in 2025. My guess is what you're going to see is some improved performance in the retention side of the equation just because there's just less optionality for those residents. my guess is what you're going to see is some improved performance in the retention side of the equation just because there's just less optionality for those residents Ultimately, as we start seeing less and less competitive pressure, less concessions in the marketplace, that probably drives kind of that net effective prices to be more in line with a normal rent seasonality curve, which compared to 2025 would equate to more pricing power in 2026 versus what we had in 2025. ultimately as we start seeing less and less competitive pressure less concessions in the marketplace that probably drives kind of that net effective prices to be more in line with a normal rent seasonality curve which compared to 2025 would equate to more pricing power in 2026 versus what we had in 2025

Speaker 4: I think you all published one of the more sort of helpful charts, in terms of your pricing trend. I know it's early in the year, can you maybe walk us through sort of what you've seen thus far, you know, sort of why you're confident right now that you're following a sort of normal seasonal trend? I think you all published one of the more sort of helpful charts, in terms of your pricing trend. i think you all published one of the more sort of helpful charts in terms of your pricing trend I know it's early in the year, can you maybe walk us through sort of what you've seen thus far, you know, sort of why you're confident right now that you're following a sort of normal seasonal trend? i know it's early in the year can you maybe walk us through sort of what you've seen thus far you know sort of why you're confident right now that you're following a sort of normal seasonal trend

Speaker 3: Yeah. You're referring, it's page 11 in the management presentation that we posted on Friday. Basically, this is just a normal typical rent seasonality curve is a dotted line that we show how rents are gonna trend from the beginning of the year through the peak leasing season and ultimately decelerating through the third and fourth quarter of the year. Right now we have a line in there that shows our net effective pricing from the beginning of the year to basically last week, and it's kinda right in line with what you would typically expect rents to be doing, which is sequentially week after week, we're putting through increases as we prepare the portfolio for the spring and peak leasing season. Yeah. yeah You're referring, it's page 11 in the management presentation that we posted on Friday. you're referring it's page 11 in the management presentation that we posted on friday Basically, this is just a normal typical rent seasonality curve is a dotted line that we show how rents are gonna trend from the beginning of the year through the peak leasing season and ultimately decelerating through the third and fourth quarter of the year. basically this is just a normal typical rent seasonality curve is a dotted line that we show how rents are gonna trend from the beginning of the year through the peak leasing season and ultimately decelerating through the third and fourth quarter of the year Right now we have a line in there that shows our net effective pricing from the beginning of the year to basically last week, and it's kinda right in line with what you would typically expect rents to be doing, which is sequentially week after week, we're putting through increases as we prepare the portfolio for the spring and peak leasing season. right now we have a line in there that shows our net effective pricing from the beginning of the year to basically last week and it's kinda right in line with what you would typically expect rents to be doing which is sequentially week after week we're putting through increases as we prepare the portfolio for the spring and peak leasing season When we're 96.6% occupied, we have confidence to kinda keep our foot on that gas and keep pressure testing that rate. We're also coming up against a period where in many of the markets we operate in, we do see less pressure from supply, so we do start to see more pricing power. I could use an example like San Francisco right now, where we're using a lot of concessions this time last year, and we have zero concessions in the marketplace today. Every market's gonna have a little bit of a nuance or a little bit of a story to it. In our minds and what we're seeing so far year-to-date, the portfolio is positioned well from an occupancy standpoint. We're not seeing any signs of distress from our resident base. When we're 96.6% occupied, we have confidence to kinda keep our foot on that gas and keep pressure testing that rate. when we're 96.6% occupied we have confidence to kinda keep our foot on that gas and keep pressure testing that rate We're also coming up against a period where in many of the markets we operate in, we do see less pressure from supply, so we do start to see more pricing power. we're also coming up against a period where in many of the markets we operate in we do see less pressure from supply so we do start to see more pricing power I could use an example like San Francisco right now, where we're using a lot of concessions this time last year, and we have zero concessions in the marketplace today. i could use an example like san francisco right now where we're using a lot of concessions this time last year and we have zero concessions in the marketplace today Every market's gonna have a little bit of a nuance or a little bit of a story to it. every market's gonna have a little bit of a nuance or a little bit of a story to it In our minds and what we're seeing so far year- to- date, the portfolio is positioned well from an occupancy standpoint. in our minds and what we're seeing so far year- to- date the portfolio is positioned well from an occupancy standpoint We're not seeing any signs of distress from our resident base. we're not seeing any signs of distress from our resident base We continue to see strong retention, good renewal conversations for even the renewals that are out in the marketplace for the next three months. That tells us that we should expect a normal kind of rent seasonality trend. We continue to see strong retention, good renewal conversations for even the renewals that are out in the marketplace for the next three months. we continue to see strong retention good renewal conversations for even the renewals that are out in the marketplace for the next three months That tells us that we should expect a normal kind of rent seasonality trend. that tells us that we should expect a normal kind of rent seasonality trend

Speaker 4: Can we just follow up on that last part? Where are renewals, you know, going out? I think as part of your, you know, Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but part of your revenue management system, you sort of have a projection of your lease exposure and where sort of occupancy might go based on sort of current retention. Can you just talk about sort of what those forward indicators are telling you and where renewals are going out today? Can we just follow up on that last part? can we just follow up on that last part Where are renewals, you know, going out? where are renewals you know going out I think as part of your, you know, Again, correct me if I'm wrong, but part of your revenue management system, you sort of have a projection of your lease exposure and where sort of occupancy might go based on sort of current retention. i think as part of your you know again correct me if i'm wrong but part of your revenue management system you sort of have a projection of your lease exposure and where sort of occupancy might go based on sort of current retention Can you just talk about sort of what those forward indicators are telling you and where renewals are going out today? can you just talk about sort of what those forward indicators are telling you and where renewals are going out today

Speaker 3: Sure. Actually, we put a page in the book, I think it was page 46 in the management presentation, 'cause that is a proprietary kind of pricing engine that we created that handles about 60% of our transactions, which are the renewals. This system generates kind of the quotes that go out. It also. We have a centralized renewal team. It modifies and puts screens in front of those individuals on how to negotiate kind of based on market conditions, that they see real time. Today, our quotes in the marketplace are somewhere around a net effective 6% increase, and we have a high degree of confidence for the next kinda 90 days, which is where those quotes are out there, that we'll achieve about a 4.5% increase. Sure. sure Actually, we put a page in the book, I think it was page 46 in the management presentation, 'cause that is a proprietary kind of pricing engine that we created that handles about 60% of our transactions, which are the renewals. actually we put a page in the book i think it was page 46 in the management presentation 'cause that is a proprietary kind of pricing engine that we created that handles about 60% of our transactions which are the renewals This system generates kind of the quotes that go out. this system generates kind of the quotes that go out It also. it also We have a centralized renewal team. we have a centralized renewal team It modifies and puts screens in front of those individuals on how to negotiate kind of based on market conditions, that they see real time. it modifies and puts screens in front of those individuals on how to negotiate kind of based on market conditions that they see real time Today, our quotes in the marketplace are somewhere around a net effective 6% increase, and we have a high degree of confidence for the next kinda 90 days, which is where those quotes are out there, that we'll achieve about a 4.5% increase. today our quotes in the marketplace are somewhere around a net effective 6% increase and we have a high degree of confidence for the next kinda 90 days which is where those quotes are out there that we'll achieve about a 4.5% increase

Speaker 4: Got it. net, so the kind of 150 basis points of similar, I think what you discussed before in terms of negotiation after. Got it. net, so the kind of 150 basis points of similar, I think what you discussed before in terms of negotiation after. got it net so the kind of 150 basis points of similar i think what you discussed before in terms of negotiation after

Speaker 3: Yes. Yes. yes

Speaker 4: Okay. Okay. okay

Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 4: You mentioned the proprietary revenue system. I think, you know, we have some questions we'll ask on AI in a moment, but I was just curious, you know, how much has that sort of system changed over the last couple of years? You know, as you think going forward, whether it's incorporating, AI or other advancements in it, like, do you see that system sort of materially changing going forward? You mentioned the proprietary revenue system. you mentioned the proprietary revenue system I think, you know, we have some questions we'll ask on AI in a moment, but I was just curious, you know, how much has that sort of system changed over the last couple of years? i think you know we have some questions we'll ask on ai in a moment but i was just curious you know how much has that sort of system changed over the last couple of years You know, as you think going forward, whether it's incorporating, AI or other advancements in it, like, do you see that system sort of materially changing going forward? you know as you think going forward whether it's incorporating ai or other advancements in it like do you see that system sort of materially changing going forward

Speaker 3: Well, I think in terms of technology in general, I think the technology's advancing very quickly out there, and the opportunities to layer in AI into the day-to-day operations, it's really exciting. I mean, we're creating a foundation of operating efficiency that the industry has not seen before. I was just in D.C. last week. We're deploying a new AI-enabled CRM and service application that we have a high degree of confidence will create the operating efficiency and deliver a more seamless customer experience to our resident base. I think as we think about technology going forward, we are gonna focus, and we're gonna build the things that can help us differentiate. Like the example I used on renewal pricing, our website, things like that that we can truly differentiate. Well, I think in terms of technology in general, I think the technology's advancing very quickly out there, and the opportunities to layer in AI into the day-to-day operations, it's really exciting. well i think in terms of technology in general i think the technology's advancing very quickly out there and the opportunities to layer in ai into the day-to-day operations it's really exciting I mean, we're creating a foundation of operating efficiency that the industry has not seen before. i mean we're creating a foundation of operating efficiency that the industry has not seen before I was just in D.C. last week. i was just in d.c last week We're deploying a new AI-enabled CRM and service application that we have a high degree of confidence will create the operating efficiency and deliver a more seamless customer experience to our resident base. we're deploying a new ai-enabled crm and service application that we have a high degree of confidence will create the operating efficiency and deliver a more seamless customer experience to our resident base I think as we think about technology going forward, we are gonna focus, and we're gonna build the things that can help us differentiate. i think as we think about technology going forward we are gonna focus and we're gonna build the things that can help us differentiate Like the example I used on renewal pricing, our website, things like that that we can truly differentiate. like the example i used on renewal pricing our website things like that that we can truly differentiate When it comes to layering in the AI kind of components into applications, there's some great products in the marketplace, and these companies have teams of people that wake up and just think about that one part of the business. It's hard for us to build something and keep up and compete with that. We're really excited about these opportunities that we see in the marketplace to license software and build our own expertise in-house to go differentiate on pockets of how we run the business. When it comes to layering in the AI kind of components into applications, there's some great products in the marketplace, and these companies have teams of people that wake up and just think about that one part of the business. when it comes to layering in the ai kind of components into applications there's some great products in the marketplace and these companies have teams of people that wake up and just think about that one part of the business It's hard for us to build something and keep up and compete with that. it's hard for us to build something and keep up and compete with that We're really excited about these opportunities that we see in the marketplace to license software and build our own expertise in-house to go differentiate on pockets of how we run the business. we're really excited about these opportunities that we see in the marketplace to license software and build our own expertise in-house to go differentiate on pockets of how we run the business

Speaker 2: I just wanna clarify, being a big platform really helps. We don't use and have never used really outside information. Even in Atlanta, we have, you know, 5,000, 6,000 units. When you have that kind, you can see one property's rents moving one direction, another property. You can use that to price your one-bedrooms, your twos, 'cause that's another way pricing has changed. It's become much more inward-looking. So people are developing their own systems, looking at their own properties. Having big portfolios in all our markets but Austin is very helpful in that endeavor because we never really relied on other people's pricing, and we do so even less now. I just wanna clarify, being a big platform really helps. i just wanna clarify being a big platform really helps We don't use and have never used really outside information. we don't use and have never used really outside information Even in Atlanta, we have, you know, 5,000, 6,000 units. even in atlanta we have you know 5,000 6,000 units When you have that kind, you can see one property's rents moving one direction, another property. when you have that kind you can see one property's rents moving one direction another property You can use that to price your one-bedrooms, your twos, 'cause that's another way pricing has changed. you can use that to price your one-bedrooms your twos 'cause that's another way pricing has changed It's become much more inward-looking. it's become much more inward-looking So people are developing their own systems, looking at their own properties. so people are developing their own systems looking at their own properties Having big portfolios in all our markets but Austin is very helpful in that endeavor because we never really relied on other people's pricing, and we do so even less now. having big portfolios in all our markets but austin is very helpful in that endeavor because we never really relied on other people's pricing and we do so even less now

Speaker 1: That's helpful. As you think about that AI deployment, you know, where else are you seeing the efficiencies? Maybe either on the expense side or using it towards capital allocation, just more broadly across the organization beyond kind of what you just touched on on the revenue management. That's helpful. that's helpful As you think about that AI deployment, you know, where else are you seeing the efficiencies? as you think about that ai deployment you know where else are you seeing the efficiencies Maybe either on the expense side or using it towards capital allocation, just more broadly across the organization beyond kind of what you just touched on on the revenue management. maybe either on the expense side or using it towards capital allocation just more broadly across the organization beyond kind of what you just touched on on the revenue management

Speaker 3: I think it's clearly going into the buy, you know, the... You wanna go, Bob? I think it's clearly going into the buy, you know, the... i think it's clearly going into the buy you know the You wanna go, Bob? you wanna go bob

Speaker 5: Yeah. I think it's permeating kind of throughout the organization in all the areas that you outlined. You know, I think early, you know, our early adoption was largely focused on some of the leasing activities and prospect activities, etc., but now you're seeing that increasingly in both capital allocation and underwriting analysis in location and market selection and all those areas, and you're also seeing it in the back office, right? Yeah. yeah I think it's permeating kind of throughout the organization in all the areas that you outlined. i think it's permeating kind of throughout the organization in all the areas that you outlined You know, I think early, you know, our early adoption was largely focused on some of the leasing activities and prospect activities, etc., but now you're seeing that increasingly in both capital allocation and underwriting analysis in location and market selection and all those areas, and you're also seeing it in the back office, right? you know i think early you know our early adoption was largely focused on some of the leasing activities and prospect activities etc but now you're seeing that increasingly in both capital allocation and underwriting analysis in location and market selection and all those areas and you're also seeing it in the back office right

Speaker 4: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. mm-hmm

Speaker 5: You're seeing that impact line items like property management and G&A as well. We have a pretty robust approach overall and try to identify use cases and what the value proposition is and target those use cases against the value proposition. I think it's, I think as probably everyone in this room is experiencing, there is use cases and impacts across organizations. You're seeing that impact line items like property management and G&A as well. you're seeing that impact line items like property management and g&a as well We have a pretty robust approach overall and try to identify use cases and what the value proposition is and target those use cases against the value proposition. we have a pretty robust approach overall and try to identify use cases and what the value proposition is and target those use cases against the value proposition I think it's, I think as probably everyone in this room is experiencing, there is use cases and impacts across organizations. i think it's i think as probably everyone in this room is experiencing there is use cases and impacts across organizations

Speaker 1: Mark, I think over the history of EQR, you've been thoughtful of exiting different markets, moving into different markets based off of where your customers are and where you think they're going. AI's obviously impacting sentiment and the economy broadly. How does that inform or, you know, how do you think through maybe either new markets or lightening up on markets, you know, based off of the potential ramifications of AI on white-collar job and the economy broadly? Mark, I think over the history of EQR, you've been thoughtful of exiting different markets, moving into different markets based off of where your customers are and where you think they're going. mark i think over the history of eqr you've been thoughtful of exiting different markets moving into different markets based off of where your customers are and where you think they're going AI's obviously impacting sentiment and the economy broadly. ai's obviously impacting sentiment and the economy broadly How does that inform or, you know, how do you think through maybe either new markets or lightening up on markets, you know, based off of the potential ramifications of AI on white-collar job and the economy broadly? how does that inform or you know how do you think through maybe either new markets or lightening up on markets you know based off of the potential ramifications of ai on white-collar job and the economy broadly

Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a great question. I want to admit to a great deal of modesty about what the answer really is, Nick, at the end. I will talk about a little thought experiment that we've been doing here as a management team. We do have exposure. We have properties in and around Frisco, Texas, which is a North Dallas suburb. One of the big insurance companies has a big service center there, thousands of employees. They process claims. Okay, what's the AI impact on that employment? Yeah, that's a great question. yeah that's a great question I want to admit to a great deal of modesty about what the answer really is, Nick, at the end. i want to admit to a great deal of modesty about what the answer really is nick at the end I will talk about a little thought experiment that we've been doing here as a management team. i will talk about a little thought experiment that we've been doing here as a management team We do have exposure. we do have exposure We have properties in and around Frisco, Texas, which is a North Dallas suburb. we have properties in and around frisco texas which is a north dallas suburb One of the big insurance companies has a big service center there, thousands of employees. one of the big insurance companies has a big service center there thousands of employees They process claims. they process claims Okay, what's the AI impact on that employment? okay what's the ai impact on that employment We think on that, and we compare that to our very significant exposure in San Francisco, where you're tied in with a higher earner knowledge worker who may be working at OpenAI or may be working at all the things that sit on top of those LLMs and try to create products, as Michael discussed a minute ago. We've tried to think which of those in our experience would be more susceptible to, you know, disruption. I guess our really preliminary, I call it hypothesis at this point, is San Francisco and New York, where you have these very high-end knowledge workers and high housing prices, so they stay renters longer. Feels better to me. It feels like those folks have changed. We think on that, and we compare that to our very significant exposure in San Francisco, where you're tied in with a higher earner knowledge worker who may be working at OpenAI or may be working at all the things that sit on top of those LLMs and try to create products, as Michael discussed a minute ago. we think on that and we compare that to our very significant exposure in san francisco where you're tied in with a higher earner knowledge worker who may be working at openai or may be working at all the things that sit on top of those llms and try to create products as michael discussed a minute ago We've tried to think which of those in our experience would be more susceptible to, you know, disruption. we've tried to think which of those in our experience would be more susceptible to you know disruption I guess our really preliminary, I call it hypothesis at this point, is San Francisco and New York, where you have these very high-end knowledge workers and high housing prices, so they stay renters longer. Feels better to me. i guess our really preliminary i call it hypothesis at this point is san francisco and new york where you have these very high-end knowledge workers and high housing prices so they stay renters longer. feels better to me It feels like those folks have changed. it feels like those folks have changed If you think about the GFC pre-New York, financial services was a much higher percentage of total employment than it is now, and people morphed and spread and did other things, and total employment is higher. San Francisco in my career has been through Internet 1.0 bust to social media bust. I mean, been through and it reinvents itself, and it's doing it again with AI. I don't imply that Frisco is not gonna have employment. Dallas is a giant metro, Americans are very good at figuring out how to make money. I do worry about some of those jobs and the speed, Nick, of the disruption. If it happens quickly, it could be more problematic. If it happens over time. My bet is it happens slowly. If you think about the GFC pre-New York, financial services was a much higher percentage of total employment than it is now, and people morphed and spread and did other things, and total employment is higher. if you think about the gfc pre-new york financial services was a much higher percentage of total employment than it is now and people morphed and spread and did other things and total employment is higher San Francisco in my career has been through Internet 1.0 bust to social media bust. san francisco in my career has been through internet 1.0 bust to social media bust I mean, been through and it reinvents itself, and it's doing it again with AI. i mean been through and it reinvents itself and it's doing it again with ai I don't imply that Frisco is not gonna have employment. i don't imply that frisco is not gonna have employment Dallas is a giant metro, Americans are very good at figuring out how to make money. dallas is a giant metro americans are very good at figuring out how to make money I do worry about some of those jobs and the speed, Nick, of the disruption. i do worry about some of those jobs and the speed nick of the disruption If it happens quickly, it could be more problematic. if it happens quickly it could be more problematic If it happens over time. if it happens over time My bet is it happens slowly. my bet is it happens slowly That it isn't the tools that are the problem, it's rolling those tools out, getting your employees and your customers to use them. Inside our company, the big spend has been, for example, on technology, but also change management people in HR because we need to teach our teams how to think differently. We all need to think differently. My instinct is it'll happen slower than we think, than it feels, than the talk shops would have us believe. I think the places with very high-end knowledge workers are probably less exposed and are used to transforming themselves to the next big thing. That it isn't the tools that are the problem, it's rolling those tools out, getting your employees and your customers to use them. that it isn't the tools that are the problem it's rolling those tools out getting your employees and your customers to use them Inside our company, the big spend has been, for example, on technology, but also change management people in HR because we need to teach our teams how to think differently. inside our company the big spend has been for example on technology but also change management people in hr because we need to teach our teams how to think differently We all need to think differently. we all need to think differently My instinct is it'll happen slower than we think, than it feels, than the talk shops would have us believe. my instinct is it'll happen slower than we think than it feels than the talk shops would have us believe I think the places with very high-end knowledge workers are probably less exposed and are used to transforming themselves to the next big thing. i think the places with very high-end knowledge workers are probably less exposed and are used to transforming themselves to the next big thing

Speaker 4: Is it impacting your hiring at all? How you think about hiring? Is it impacting your hiring at all? is it impacting your hiring at all How you think about hiring? how you think about hiring

Speaker 2: Well, our IT department is slowly taking over our office. I would say that's part of it. Yes, there are reductions across. I mean, Michael, your headcount reductions in property management. Why don't you talk about those for a minute? Well, our IT department is slowly taking over our office. well our it department is slowly taking over our office I would say that's part of it. i would say that's part of it Yes, there are reductions across. yes there are reductions across I mean, Michael, your headcount reductions in property management. i mean michael your headcount reductions in property management Why don't you talk about those for a minute? why don't you talk about those for a minute

Speaker 3: Yeah. I think the first wave of innovation that we introduced through the company in the last four years or so was about a 20% headcount reduction. I think layering in this next tranche of AI-enabled, we'll probably see another 10%-15% reduction, and that's not just on-site. That includes some of the centralization processes that we put in place as well. I'll tell you, the folks that are in the AI and engineers that may be losing their job, we'll hire them because that's the group that we're trying to build out, right? Yeah. yeah I think the first wave of innovation that we introduced through the company in the last four years or so was about a 20% headcount reduction. i think the first wave of innovation that we introduced through the company in the last four years or so was about a 20% headcount reduction I think layering in this next tranche of AI-enabled, we'll probably see another 10%-15% reduction, and that's not just on-site. i think layering in this next tranche of ai-enabled we'll probably see another 10%-15% reduction and that's not just on-site That includes some of the centralization processes that we put in place as well. that includes some of the centralization processes that we put in place as well I'll tell you, the folks that are in the AI and engineers that may be losing their job, we'll hire them because that's the group that we're trying to build out, right? i'll tell you the folks that are in the ai and engineers that may be losing their job we'll hire them because that's the group that we're trying to build out right That's the expertise that as an industry we have had a challenge for the last five years of attracting that kind of talent. Now what you see is this opportunity to build the use cases, like Bob said, build out kinda high-performing data and analytics team. That's exciting to some of those individuals. I think we see it as an opportunity for us as well. That's the expertise that as an industry we have had a challenge for the last five years of attracting that kind of talent. that's the expertise that as an industry we have had a challenge for the last five years of attracting that kind of talent Now what you see is this opportunity to build the use cases, like Bob said, build out kinda high-performing data and analytics team. now what you see is this opportunity to build the use cases like bob said build out kinda high-performing data and analytics team That's exciting to some of those individuals. that's exciting to some of those individuals I think we see it as an opportunity for us as well. i think we see it as an opportunity for us as well

Speaker 2: Maybe we could just use an example. Maybe Bob, you could talk about Block, our exposure to them, and then what happened a couple years ago when all the tech firms shrunk- Maybe we could just use an example. maybe we could just use an example Maybe Bob, you could talk about Block, our exposure to them, and then what happened a couple years ago when all the tech firms shrunk- maybe bob you could talk about block our exposure to them and then what happened a couple years ago when all the tech firms shrunk-

Speaker 5: Yeah Yeah yeah

Speaker 2: ... post COVID. ... post COVID. post covid

Speaker 5: Obviously there's been a large narrative around Block and the announcement on Block and a lot of discussion about whether or not that's truly AI related or frankly just, you know, some over-hiring, et cetera. Our portfolio exposure is very minimal, as you might expect. We have like 19 residents that are employed at Block. To the best of our knowledge, they may still be employed at Block. We don't know necessarily if they are or not. It's pretty dispersed as well. It was actually dispersed across 6 MSAs. I think it's difficult to make a single-threaded narrative around, you know, whether it's AI that's disintermediating or just adjustments like we saw and Mark alluded to in 2022. Obviously there's been a large narrative around Block and the announcement on Block and a lot of discussion about whether or not that's truly AI related or frankly just, you know, some over-hiring, et cetera. obviously there's been a large narrative around block and the announcement on block and a lot of discussion about whether or not that's truly ai related or frankly just you know some over-hiring et cetera Our portfolio exposure is very minimal, as you might expect. our portfolio exposure is very minimal as you might expect We have like 19 residents that are employed at Block. we have like 19 residents that are employed at block To the best of our knowledge, they may still be employed at Block. to the best of our knowledge they may still be employed at block We don't know necessarily if they are or not. we don't know necessarily if they are or not It's pretty dispersed as well. it's pretty dispersed as well It was actually dispersed across 6 MSAs. it was actually dispersed across 6 msas I think it's difficult to make a single-threaded narrative around, you know, whether it's AI that's disintermediating or just adjustments like we saw and Mark alluded to in 2022. i think it's difficult to make a single-threaded narrative around you know whether it's ai that's disintermediating or just adjustments like we saw and mark alluded to in 2022 In 2022, we saw significant amounts of kind of post-pandemic hiring or kind of during the pandemic hiring by the tech space. You saw a lot of job creation and then an adjustment, a right-sizing, right? That certainly may have impacted like top-of-funnel demand in certain markets. Overall, we continued to go, you know, execute through. As Michael alluded to earlier, as we sit here today, San Francisco is probably our strongest market, where we see the best pricing power that we've seen in a number of years. I think it's a, it's a multivariable equation with a number of puts and takes when we think about what the workforce could look like going forward. In 2022, we saw significant amounts of kind of post-pandemic hiring or kind of during the pandemic hiring by the tech space. in 2022 we saw significant amounts of kind of post-pandemic hiring or kind of during the pandemic hiring by the tech space You saw a lot of job creation and then an adjustment, a right-sizing, right? you saw a lot of job creation and then an adjustment a right-sizing right That certainly may have impacted like top-of-funnel demand in certain markets. that certainly may have impacted like top-of-funnel demand in certain markets Overall, we continued to go, you know, execute through. overall we continued to go you know execute through As Michael alluded to earlier, as we sit here today, San Francisco is probably our strongest market, where we see the best pricing power that we've seen in a number of years. as michael alluded to earlier as we sit here today san francisco is probably our strongest market where we see the best pricing power that we've seen in a number of years I think it's a, it's a multivariable equation with a number of puts and takes when we think about what the workforce could look like going forward. i think it's a it's a multivariable equation with a number of puts and takes when we think about what the workforce could look like going forward

Speaker 4: I mean, San Francisco's at the center of this really debate, right? Nothing within San Francisco that you've seen, thus far would say that, you know, a certain percentage of your tenants are being, you know, displaced, at least at this moment. 'Cause I think the fear is that, you know, it's a digital profession. Might be a little bit easier to transition, especially since they're at the front end of technology, you're not seeing anything like that. I mean, San Francisco's at the center of this really debate, right? i mean san francisco's at the center of this really debate right Nothing within San Francisco that you've seen, thus far would say that, you know, a certain percentage of your tenants are being, you know, displaced, at least at this moment. 'Cause I think the fear is that, you know, it's a digital profession. nothing within san francisco that you've seen thus far would say that you know a certain percentage of your tenants are being you know displaced at least at this moment 'cause i think the fear is that you know it's a digital profession Might be a little bit easier to transition, especially since they're at the front end of technology, you're not seeing anything like that. might be a little bit easier to transition especially since they're at the front end of technology you're not seeing anything like that

Speaker 5: I think it's actually the opposite for us, that even the folks that are losing their jobs, and what we don't see with some of the kinda public job data, is what's really happening in the ecosystem of San Francisco, which is the 6 and 10-person company that's being created on top of using these, you know, large language models that are developing the next round of products and services to come approach companies like us saying they got the next best solution. We see a lot of activity right now that people that are still in migration into the market. There's definitely a buzz still, and I think even though we're seeing some of the headlines, we're just not seeing anything in terms of resident kinda distress or turning in keys. We actually see more of the frenzy still taking place. I think it's actually the opposite for us, that even the folks that are losing their jobs, and what we don't see with some of the kinda public job data, is what's really happening in the ecosystem of San Francisco, which is the 6 and 10-person company that's being created on top of using these, you know, large language models that are developing the next round of products and services to come approach companies like us saying they got the next best solution. i think it's actually the opposite for us that even the folks that are losing their jobs and what we don't see with some of the kinda public job data is what's really happening in the ecosystem of san francisco which is the 6 and 10-person company that's being created on top of using these you know large language models that are developing the next round of products and services to come approach companies like us saying they got the next best solution We see a lot of activity right now that people that are still in migration into the market. we see a lot of activity right now that people that are still in migration into the market There's definitely a buzz still, and I think even though we're seeing some of the headlines, we're just not seeing anything in terms of resident kinda distress or turning in keys. there's definitely a buzz still and i think even though we're seeing some of the headlines we're just not seeing anything in terms of resident kinda distress or turning in keys We actually see more of the frenzy still taking place. we actually see more of the frenzy still taking place

Speaker 4: Moving beyond San Francisco, I think internally you guys might have a bet going on which markets outperform or underperform. Sort of curious who's winning that bet thus far if there's certain markets that are exhibiting, you know, a little bit more strength versus lower, better demand versus worse? Moving beyond San Francisco, I think internally you guys might have a bet going on which markets outperform or underperform. moving beyond san francisco i think internally you guys might have a bet going on which markets outperform or underperform Sort of curious who's winning that bet thus far if there's certain markets that are exhibiting, you know, a little bit more strength versus lower, better demand versus worse? sort of curious who's winning that bet thus far if there's certain markets that are exhibiting you know a little bit more strength versus lower better demand versus worse

Speaker 5: Well, if we have an internal bet. Well, if we have an internal bet. well if we have an internal bet

Speaker 2: I don't like to bet against the guy who's got the best information. I don't like to bet against the guy who's got the best information. i don't like to bet against the guy who's got the best information

Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 2: I don't bet against my guy. I don't bet against my guy. i don't bet against my guy

Speaker 5: I think, look, I think sitting here today, I would tell you that the two markets that have the most pronounced rent seasonality, which is for us Boston and Seattle, are trending a little bit behind what I would say is a normal rent seasonality curve. To be fair, Boston for the last month has been pounded on with snow and cold weather. You know, I want to see how does this market react in the next couple of weeks. Somebody told me it's going to be 60 degrees, and we'll see if there's kind of this pent-up demand coming. It's a very early time in the year right now. We don't write a lot of leases. We don't have a lot of leases expiring. I think, look, I think sitting here today, I would tell you that the two markets that have the most pronounced rent seasonality, which is for us Boston and Seattle, are trending a little bit behind what I would say is a normal rent seasonality curve. i think look i think sitting here today i would tell you that the two markets that have the most pronounced rent seasonality which is for us boston and seattle are trending a little bit behind what i would say is a normal rent seasonality curve To be fair, Boston for the last month has been pounded on with snow and cold weather. to be fair, boston for the last month has been pounded on with snow and cold weather You know, I want to see how does this market react in the next couple of weeks. you know i want to see how does this market react in the next couple of weeks Somebody told me it's going to be 60 degrees, and we'll see if there's kind of this pent-up demand coming. somebody told me it's going to be 60 degrees and we'll see if there's kind of this pent-up demand coming It's a very early time in the year right now. it's a very early time in the year right now We don't write a lot of leases. we don't write a lot of leases We don't have a lot of leases expiring. we don't have a lot of leases expiring But those two markets right now, if I was just putting into my beginning of the year expectation, how I would think they would trend, are both kind of a little bit lagging. Seattle, I would say it's got pockets of strength, pockets of weakness. It's a market that tends to move very quickly. It's also a market that we've seen in previous cycles tends to kind of lag San Francisco about one to, you know, 12-18 months behind, good or bad. I think what we're seeing right now is the setup feels right for Seattle. It just hasn't kind of taken hold like we would have expected it to so far. In Boston, I think weather is playing into this a little bit. No change in the expectation for us in Boston that the urban is going to outperform suburban. But those two markets right now, if I was just putting into my beginning of the year expectation, how I would think they would trend, are both kind of a little bit lagging. but those two markets right now if i was just putting into my beginning of the year expectation how i would think they would trend are both kind of a little bit lagging Seattle, I would say it's got pockets of strength, pockets of weakness. seattle i would say it's got pockets of strength pockets of weakness It's a market that tends to move very quickly. it's a market that tends to move very quickly It's also a market that we've seen in previous cycles tends to kind of lag San Francisco about one to, you know, 12-18 months behind, good or bad. it's also a market that we've seen in previous cycles tends to kind of lag san francisco about one to you know 12-18 months behind good or bad I think what we're seeing right now is the setup feels right for Seattle. i think what we're seeing right now is the setup feels right for seattle It just hasn't kind of taken hold like we would have expected it to so far. it just hasn't kind of taken hold like we would have expected it to so far In Boston, I think weather is playing into this a little bit. in boston i think weather is playing into this a little bit No change in the expectation for us in Boston that the urban is going to outperform suburban. no change in the expectation for us in boston that the urban is going to outperform suburban We just have so much little supply coming at us in the city of Boston that I think we're going to have a little bit more pricing power. Outside of that, the rest of these markets are just kind of trending right where you thought they would be trending. We just have so much little supply coming at us in the city of Boston that I think we're going to have a little bit more pricing power. we just have so much little supply coming at us in the city of boston that i think we're going to have a little bit more pricing power Outside of that, the rest of these markets are just kind of trending right where you thought they would be trending. outside of that the rest of these markets are just kind of trending right where you thought they would be trending

Speaker 4: If we use sort of D.C. as like a case study for maybe a market that underperformed in the back half of the year, you know, had sort of a little bit lower demand profile, more uncertainty in that market, I guess how long do you think it takes to sort of work through, you know, not really the demand side, but whatever sort of leftover supply there is there, meaning that, you know, this is a market that where supply is coming down by 60% year-over-year, but you're probably still dealing with some lease-ups there and that sort of lower demand profile? How quickly can you sort of move through that and then start seeing a bit more strength on the other side of it when supply comes down? If we use sort of D.C. as like a case study for maybe a market that underperformed in the back half of the year, you know, had sort of a little bit lower demand profile, more uncertainty in that market, I guess how long do you think it takes to sort of work through, you know, not really the demand side, but whatever sort of leftover supply there is there, meaning that, you know, this is a market that where supply is coming down by 60% year-over-year, but you're probably still dealing with some lease-ups there and that sort of lower demand profile? if we use sort of d.c as like a case study for maybe a market that underperformed in the back half of the year you know had sort of a little bit lower demand profile more uncertainty in that market i guess how long do you think it takes to sort of work through you know not really the demand side but whatever sort of leftover supply there is there meaning that you know this is a market that where supply is coming down by 60% year-over-year but you're probably still dealing with some lease-ups there and that sort of lower demand profile How quickly can you sort of move through that and then start seeing a bit more strength on the other side of it when supply comes down? how quickly can you sort of move through that and then start seeing a bit more strength on the other side of it when supply comes down

Speaker 3: Yeah. I was just in the market last week. Again, that market, depending on where you are, Northern Virginia feels better than the District, better than the Upper Northwest Corridor. I think we're probably looking somewhere into this back half of this year where it's like very obvious that there is just a significant drop-off in competitive pressure, very obvious that concession start to kind of lower in the marketplace. My guess is we still got six months of an overhang. A lot of this is going to depend too on how strong the spring leasing season, how strong the initial peak leasing season is and the demand side of the equation to aid some of the absorption of the units that were delivered last year. Yeah. yeah I was just in the market last week. i was just in the market last week Again, that market, depending on where you are, Northern Virginia feels better than the District, better than the Upper Northwest Corridor. again that market depending on where you are northern virginia feels better than the district better than the upper northwest corridor I think we're probably looking somewhere into this back half of this year where it's like very obvious that there is just a significant drop-off in competitive pressure, very obvious that concession start to kind of lower in the marketplace. i think we're probably looking somewhere into this back half of this year where it's like very obvious that there is just a significant drop-off in competitive pressure very obvious that concession start to kind of lower in the marketplace My guess is we still got six months of an overhang. my guess is we still got six months of an overhang A lot of this is going to depend too on how strong the spring leasing season, how strong the initial peak leasing season is and the demand side of the equation to aid some of the absorption of the units that were delivered last year. a lot of this is going to depend too on how strong the spring leasing season how strong the initial peak leasing season is and the demand side of the equation to aid some of the absorption of the units that were delivered last year I think with 62% drop-off, I mean, we're going from a market that's delivered 12,000 units a year for the last decade to like 4,000 units. They haven't delivered that few of units probably in two decades. I think it's inevitable unless you tell me demand's dropping off that more pricing power is returning to that market. I think with 62% drop-off, I mean, we're going from a market that's delivered 12,000 units a year for the last decade to like 4,000 units. i think with 62% drop-off i mean we're going from a market that's delivered 12,000 units a year for the last decade to like 4,000 units They haven't delivered that few of units probably in two decades. they haven't delivered that few of units probably in two decades I think it's inevitable unless you tell me demand's dropping off that more pricing power is returning to that market. i think it's inevitable unless you tell me demand's dropping off that more pricing power is returning to that market

Speaker 4: Maybe in terms of turnover, you know, one fear that I get sometimes from investors is that retention's been so good that there's this fear that there's going to be more people moving out to purchase homes as interest rates presumably come down, as there's more sort of stimulative policies around the housing market. I guess based on everything that's been announced thus far, I mean, I guess are you seeing any of that in your data? Are there any policies out there that have been proposed where you're like, you know what, I really hope we don't see that because that can make a sort of big difference in our retention or turnover? Maybe in terms of turnover, you know, one fear that I get sometimes from investors is that retention's been so good that there's this fear that there's going to be more people moving out to purchase homes as interest rates presumably come down, as there's more sort of stimulative policies around the housing market. maybe in terms of turnover you know one fear that i get sometimes from investors is that retention's been so good that there's this fear that there's going to be more people moving out to purchase homes as interest rates presumably come down as there's more sort of stimulative policies around the housing market I guess based on everything that's been announced thus far, I mean, I guess are you seeing any of that in your data? i guess based on everything that's been announced thus far i mean i guess are you seeing any of that in your data Are there any policies out there that have been proposed where you're like, you know what, I really hope we don't see that because that can make a sort of big difference in our retention or turnover? are there any policies out there that have been proposed where you're like you know what i really hope we don't see that because that can make a sort of big difference in our retention or turnover

Speaker 3: Yeah. Thanks for that question. That's probably not a risk to our company. I mean, the portfolio was designed to be in places with relatively high single-family housing costs. Down payments matter a lot. I think as rates go down, you may end up capitalizing those rate declines in a higher purchase price. Insurance, all those other things continue to be really expensive. Again, lifestyle factors are different. We saw about 7% of our residents move out to buy homes. That was a record low for us. When it was higher, it was 10%-12%. It just is not likely to be a reason for us to feel uncomfortable. I think it's more about jobs for us than it is about single family. Yeah. yeah Thanks for that question. thanks for that question That's probably not a risk to our company. that's probably not a risk to our company I mean, the portfolio was designed to be in places with relatively high single-family housing costs. i mean the portfolio was designed to be in places with relatively high single-family housing costs Down payments matter a lot. down payments matter a lot I think as rates go down, you may end up capitalizing those rate declines in a higher purchase price. i think as rates go down you may end up capitalizing those rate declines in a higher purchase price Insurance, all those other things continue to be really expensive. insurance all those other things continue to be really expensive Again, lifestyle factors are different. again lifestyle factors are different We saw about 7% of our residents move out to buy homes. we saw about 7% of our residents move out to buy homes That was a record low for us. that was a record low for us When it was higher, it was 10%-12%. when it was higher it was 10%-12% It just is not likely to be a reason for us to feel uncomfortable. it just is not likely to be a reason for us to feel uncomfortable I think it's more about jobs for us than it is about single family. i think it's more about jobs for us than it is about single family

Speaker 4: Switching over to capital allocation, you know, we've talked about, you know, the implications of AI for your portfolio. I guess, are you seeing any sort of signs of changes of underwriting on the private side? Meaning, is this something that people are factoring into their expectations? Not necessarily even from AI, but also just because we've seen a little bit lower job growth. On the other side of that, you know, assuming your answer is you're not seeing it, you know, I guess how aggressive can you be this year in terms of selling these non-core properties? As you mentioned before, there is a pretty big difference between where you're trading and where some of even your lower quality stuff is trading. Switching over to capital allocation, you know, we've talked about, you know, the implications of AI for your portfolio. switching over to capital allocation you know we've talked about you know the implications of ai for your portfolio I guess, are you seeing any sort of signs of changes of underwriting on the private side? i guess are you seeing any sort of signs of changes of underwriting on the private side Meaning, is this something that people are factoring into their expectations? meaning is this something that people are factoring into their expectations Not necessarily even from AI, but also just because we've seen a little bit lower job growth. not necessarily even from ai but also just because we've seen a little bit lower job growth On the other side of that, you know, assuming your answer is you're not seeing it, you know, I guess how aggressive can you be this year in terms of selling these non-core properties? on the other side of that you know assuming your answer is you're not seeing it you know i guess how aggressive can you be this year in terms of selling these non-core properties As you mentioned before, there is a pretty big difference between where you're trading and where some of even your lower quality stuff is trading. as you mentioned before there is a pretty big difference between where you're trading and where some of even your lower quality stuff is trading

Speaker 5: Yeah. Thanks, Eric. I'll start on the underwriting side. In the private markets, we do see, we continue to see pretty aggressive underwriting, meaning we don't see a negative impact in terms of demand. In pockets, we see very aggressive recoveries underwritten. Like in markets like in Austin, we often see folks underwriting recovery levels, you know, Austin being in a market that has significant supply that are pretty pronounced. Generally speaking, the private markets for multifamily remain very liquid. Cap rates tend to surround somewhere like a 4.75%-5.25%. The implication if you're solving to an IRR that's maybe in the low sevens, which I think is where most people are solving on levered, is that you see good demand and good rental growth coming in the near term. Yeah. yeah Thanks, Eric. thanks eric I'll start on the underwriting side. i'll start on the underwriting side In the private markets, we do see, we continue to see pretty aggressive underwriting, meaning we don't see a negative impact in terms of demand. in the private markets we do see we continue to see pretty aggressive underwriting meaning we don't see a negative impact in terms of demand In pockets, we see very aggressive recoveries underwritten. in pockets we see very aggressive recoveries underwritten Like in markets like in Austin, we often see folks underwriting recovery levels, you know, Austin being in a market that has significant supply that are pretty pronounced. like in markets like in austin we often see folks underwriting recovery levels you know austin being in a market that has significant supply that are pretty pronounced Generally speaking, the private markets for multifamily remain very liquid. generally speaking the private markets for multifamily remain very liquid Cap rates tend to surround somewhere like a 4.75%-5.25%. cap rates tend to surround somewhere like a 4.75%-5.25% The implication if you're solving to an IRR that's maybe in the low sevens, which I think is where most people are solving on levered, is that you see good demand and good rental growth coming in the near term. the implication if you're solving to an irr that's maybe in the low sevens which i think is where most people are solving on levered is that you see good demand and good rental growth coming in the near term We don't really see a lot of change there. In terms of our ability to sell some of the lower performing assets, I think that there continues to be pretty good bids. They're a little harder than, you know, down the middle of the fairway stuff. It may not be as, you know, robust a bidding tense, which may mean that you have to expose a few more markets or take a little bit more time to get the transaction to work. I think that we will continue to do that. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot to expose. We will see how that goes as we make it through the year. We don't really see a lot of change there. we don't really see a lot of change there In terms of our ability to sell some of the lower performing assets, I think that there continues to be pretty good bids. in terms of our ability to sell some of the lower performing assets i think that there continues to be pretty good bids They're a little harder than, you know, down the middle of the fairway stuff. they're a little harder than you know down the middle of the fairway stuff It may not be as, you know, robust a bidding tense, which may mean that you have to expose a few more markets or take a little bit more time to get the transaction to work. it may not be as you know robust a bidding tense which may mean that you have to expose a few more markets or take a little bit more time to get the transaction to work I think that we will continue to do that. i think that we will continue to do that Unfortunately, we don't have a lot to expose. unfortunately we don't have a lot to expose We will see how that goes as we make it through the year. we will see how that goes as we make it through the year

Speaker 2: I mean, we're open to doing more buybacks. We don't feel like there's a limit on that necessarily. We just have to look at our other capital options. I mean, what our acquisition's trading at. They're trading really dear right now. We got a couple development deals we may start. You know, the stock is a pretty good value at this point. If we can arbitrage it with lower quality asset sales, I think that's making lemonade out of lemons and is a good play. I mean, we're open to doing more buybacks. i mean we're open to doing more buybacks We don't feel like there's a limit on that necessarily. we don't feel like there's a limit on that necessarily We just have to look at our other capital options. we just have to look at our other capital options I mean, what our acquisition's trading at. i mean what our acquisition's trading at They're trading really dear right now. they're trading really dear right now We got a couple development deals we may start. we got a couple development deals we may start You know, the stock is a pretty good value at this point. you know the stock is a pretty good value at this point If we can arbitrage it with lower quality asset sales, I think that's making lemonade out of lemons and is a good play. if we can arbitrage it with lower quality asset sales i think that's making lemonade out of lemons and is a good play

Speaker 4: Are you willing to let leverage lift up a little bit just because of the limitations on the tax side from sales? Are you willing to let leverage lift up a little bit just because of the limitations on the tax side from sales? are you willing to let leverage lift up a little bit just because of the limitations on the tax side from sales

Speaker 2: Yes. I think the limit there though, or the thing to think about is we can probably do several hundred million dollars of that without any impact on credit ratings and the like. You can only do that once. Once you've used up that capacity, then you're making a capital structure decision. I think, Eric, it's just what's the hurdle price for that? 'Cause when you're arbitraging existing assets with your stock, I think subject to the tax issues, that's a little bit easier trade. When you're taking debt, you're changing your opportunity set, you're potentially putting more risk. You know, there's probably a frankly a stock price you need, that needs to be lower to justify that. Yes. yes I think the limit there though, or the thing to think about is we can probably do several hundred million dollars of that without any impact on credit ratings and the like. i think the limit there though or the thing to think about is we can probably do several hundred million dollars of that without any impact on credit ratings and the like You can only do that once. you can only do that once Once you've used up that capacity, then you're making a capital structure decision. once you've used up that capacity then you're making a capital structure decision I think, Eric, it's just what's the hurdle price for that? 'Cause when you're arbitraging existing assets with your stock, I think subject to the tax issues, that's a little bit easier trade. i think eric it's just what's the hurdle price for that 'cause when you're arbitraging existing assets with your stock i think subject to the tax issues that's a little bit easier trade When you're taking debt, you're changing your opportunity set, you're potentially putting more risk. when you're taking debt you're changing your opportunity set you're potentially putting more risk You know, there's probably a frankly a stock price you need, that needs to be lower to justify that. you know there's probably a frankly a stock price you need that needs to be lower to justify that

Speaker 4: You mentioned development a moment ago. I don't know if that's sort of... I think you might have a couple projects in Atlanta. I guess my question is sort of why now, I guess, for that specific market? Then more broadly across development, you know, we've heard, you know, for years that it's just very difficult to start development right now. Construction costs are high, rental rates haven't moved enough. You know, is that changing at all? I mean, it seems like construction costs might, you know, have been come down. From your peers, some have said sort of in the 5%-10% range, but would be curious what you've seen as well. You mentioned development a moment ago. you mentioned development a moment ago I don't know if that's sort of... i don't know if that's sort of I think you might have a couple projects in Atlanta. i think you might have a couple projects in atlanta I guess my question is sort of why now, I guess, for that specific market? i guess my question is sort of why now i guess for that specific market Then more broadly across development, you know, we've heard, you know, for years that it's just very difficult to start development right now. then more broadly across development you know we've heard you know for years that it's just very difficult to start development right now Construction costs are high, rental rates haven't moved enough. construction costs are high rental rates haven't moved enough You know, is that changing at all? you know is that changing at all I mean, it seems like construction costs might, you know, have been come down. i mean it seems like construction costs might you know have been come down From your peers, some have said sort of in the 5%-10% range, but would be curious what you've seen as well. from your peers some have said sort of in the 5%-10% range but would be curious what you've seen as well

Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, Bob may supplement this. We're very selective on development. We started a couple of deals in Atlanta. We mentioned that on the call. One of them is an ex-urban small deal where frankly it's a bit of an experiment with a lower amenitized product in a further out location. It's not a build to rent deal, but it has attributes of that. Another one is an infill deal that just has really good economics in the northern Atlanta suburbs that we picked up. I mean, Bob's team sifts through 50 deals to talk to him about 10, to talk to me about one. We're a very selective developer, and the hurdle rate, Eric, is just a lot higher than it was because the stock's trading where it's trading. Yeah. yeah I mean, Bob may supplement this. i mean bob may supplement this We're very selective on development. we're very selective on development We started a couple of deals in Atlanta. we started a couple of deals in atlanta We mentioned that on the call. we mentioned that on the call One of them is an ex-urban small deal where frankly it's a bit of an experiment with a lower amenitized product in a further out location. one of them is an ex-urban small deal where frankly it's a bit of an experiment with a lower amenitized product in a further out location It's not a build to rent deal, but it has attributes of that. it's not a build to rent deal but it has attributes of that Another one is an infill deal that just has really good economics in the northern Atlanta suburbs that we picked up. another one is an infill deal that just has really good economics in the northern atlanta suburbs that we picked up I mean, Bob's team sifts through 50 deals to talk to him about 10, to talk to me about one. i mean bob's team sifts through 50 deals to talk to him about 10 to talk to me about one We're a very selective developer, and the hurdle rate, Eric, is just a lot higher than it was because the stock's trading where it's trading. we're a very selective developer and the hurdle rate eric is just a lot higher than it was because the stock's trading where it's trading

Speaker 4: Got it. Are you seeing construction costs coming down? Got it. got it Are you seeing construction costs coming down? are you seeing construction costs coming down

Speaker 3: Yeah. I think selectively you are seeing, as there's lower volume of development, you are seeing developers and general contractors reduce their margin. Correspondingly, you're seeing construction costs coming down slightly, particularly in product that's more like wrap product and suburban product. As it relates to high rise, which you're just not seeing any starts on and construction costs remaining very high relative to acquisitions, there you're not seeing it as much. In the suburban stuff you're maybe seeing that, you know, low single-digit reduction in costs selectively. Yeah. yeah I think selectively you are seeing, as there's lower volume of development, you are seeing developers and general contractors reduce their margin. i think selectively you are seeing as there's lower volume of development you are seeing developers and general contractors reduce their margin Correspondingly, you're seeing construction costs coming down slightly, particularly in product that's more like wrap product and suburban product. correspondingly you're seeing construction costs coming down slightly particularly in product that's more like wrap product and suburban product As it relates to high rise, which you're just not seeing any starts on and construction costs remaining very high relative to acquisitions, there you're not seeing it as much. as it relates to high rise which you're just not seeing any starts on and construction costs remaining very high relative to acquisitions there you're not seeing it as much In the suburban stuff you're maybe seeing that, you know, low single-digit reduction in costs selectively. in the suburban stuff you're maybe seeing that you know low single-digit reduction in costs selectively

Speaker 4: Supply's coming down, you know, very quickly this year. How long will it stay at these very low levels? Supply's coming down, you know, very quickly this year. supply's coming down you know very quickly this year How long will it stay at these very low levels? how long will it stay at these very low levels

Speaker 2: Depends what market you're talking about. I mean, that's why we like our urban exposure. We think there's just not a lot of high rise construction that's gonna make sense. We think a lot of these markets are gonna have a longer hiatus. I remind everyone, post GFC, everyone said there would never be anything built in the coastal markets, unfortunately for us, there was plenty built in the coastal markets. There will be plenty built in the Sun Belt, there'll be plenty built in the suburbs. I just think that, you know, we get these lists from these developers of assets that we can jump in JVs with them on, and that list is all suburban, and our competitors are building all suburban, so that's telling you something about where the supply's gonna be. Depends what market you're talking about. depends what market you're talking about I mean, that's why we like our urban exposure. i mean that's why we like our urban exposure We think there's just not a lot of high rise construction that's gonna make sense. we think there's just not a lot of high rise construction that's gonna make sense We think a lot of these markets are gonna have a longer hiatus. we think a lot of these markets are gonna have a longer hiatus I remind everyone, post GFC, everyone said there would never be anything built in the coastal markets, unfortunately for us, there was plenty built in the coastal markets. i remind everyone post gfc everyone said there would never be anything built in the coastal markets unfortunately for us there was plenty built in the coastal markets There will be plenty built in the Sun Belt, there'll be plenty built in the suburbs. there will be plenty built in the sun belt there'll be plenty built in the suburbs I just think that, you know, we get these lists from these developers of assets that we can jump in JVs with them on, and that list is all suburban, and our competitors are building all suburban, so that's telling you something about where the supply's gonna be. i just think that you know we get these lists from these developers of assets that we can jump in jvs with them on and that list is all suburban and our competitors are building all suburban so that's telling you something about where the supply's gonna be we think that balanced portfolio with the urban exposure's gonna serve us well. we think that balanced portfolio with the urban exposure's gonna serve us well. we think that balanced portfolio with the urban exposure's gonna serve us well

Speaker 1: Great. We have our 2 rapid fire questions to end the session. Same-Store NOI growth for the apartment sector overall next year in 2027? Great. great We have our 2 rapid fire questions to end the session. we have our 2 rapid fire questions to end the session Same-Store NOI growth for the apartment sector overall next year in 2027? same-store noi growth for the apartment sector overall next year in 2027

Speaker 2: We don't provide guidance on 2027. We don't provide guidance on 2027. we don't provide guidance on 2027

Speaker 4: It's for the sector. It's for the sector. it's for the sector

Speaker 1: Sector overall. Sector overall. sector overall

Speaker 4: Luckily it's not guidance for you. Luckily it's not guidance for you. luckily it's not guidance for you

Speaker 1: Yeah. broad sector. Yeah. broad sector. yeah broad sector

Speaker 2: I think we're not providing or giving any commentary on 2027. I think we're not providing or giving any commentary on 2027. i think we're not providing or giving any commentary on 2027

Speaker 4: What are you underwriting in your models for 2027? What are you underwriting in your models for 2027? what are you underwriting in your models for 2027

Speaker 2: Bob? Bob? bob

Speaker 5: Depends on the market. Depends on the market. depends on the market

Speaker 1: More, fewer or the same number of public apartment companies a year from now. More, fewer or the same number of public apartment companies a year from now. more fewer or the same number of public apartment companies a year from now

Speaker 3: I feel like that might be a relatively easy question this year 'cause there's already some announced, go private. I'm gonna say fewer, and I think I'm gonna be right this time. I feel like that might be a relatively easy question this year 'cause there's already some announced, go private. i feel like that might be a relatively easy question this year 'cause there's already some announced go private I'm gonna say fewer, and I think I'm gonna be right this time. i'm gonna say fewer and i think i'm gonna be right this time

Speaker 1: Sounds good. Sounds good. sounds good

Speaker 4: When you repurchase your stock, what NOI growth are you using for 2027? When you repurchase your stock, what NOI growth are you using for 2027? when you repurchase your stock what noi growth are you using for 2027

Speaker 2: Asked and answered, counselor. Asked and answered, counselor. asked and answered counselor

Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 4: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. thank you