Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA) and Essex Property Trust (NYSE: ESS) have a lot in common. They're leading apartment owners and both have long records of providing a nice flow of dividend income since becoming publicly traded real estate investment trusts (REITs).

They also have share prices battered by market malaise in general and by concerns about slowing rent growth after they increased so much during the pandemic. Both stocks seem to be saying "buy me" at the moment. Let's find out which one is more convincing.

For starters, this chart shows how much their share prices have fallen in the past year compared to the benchmark S&P 500.

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Source Fool.com