This REIT's Business Keeps Getting Stronger

When the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world in early 2020, one of the hardest-hit sectors was apartment real estate investment trusts (REITs). There's a good reason for that, but now that the apartment sector has turned hot again, there's also a good reason to be excited about the future. Here's a look at how Equity Residential's (NYSE: EQR) portfolio is faring today and what it suggests about the future.

Equity Residential owns 310 communities with nearly 80,500 units in 12 key U.S. markets. It has material exposure to large cities and coastal markets, which were exactly the areas that people fled from during the early days of the pandemic. To sum it up as simply as possible, occupancy fell across the board, lease renewals dropped materially, and rent rates declined as the REIT looked to keep its apartments occupied.

Image source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com