Equity Residential to Acquire Premier Manhattan Assets; To Add 1,325 Apartment Units on New York City's Upper West Side to Portfolio

Business Wire, June 20, 2005

CHICAGO -- Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) today announced that the company has entered into a contract to acquire three high-rise apartment towers, currently known as Trump Place, located at 140, 160 and 180 Riverside Boulevard on the Upper West Side of Manhattan for approximately $816 million. The properties, which were constructed between 1998 and 2003, consist of 1,325 apartment units totaling approximately 1.06 million square feet, approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space and 424 parking spaces. The purchase price equates to approximately $585,000 per apartment unit and $730 per square foot of rentable apartment space. The company anticipates that the initial capitalization rate on this acquisition, based on 2006 projections, will be 4.5 percent.

This transaction is part of a larger transaction in which The Carlyle Group and Extell Development Company are purchasing these properties and a large tract of developable land on Manhattan's Upper West Side from a consortium of Hong Kong investors and Donald J. Trump.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to add world-class real estate to our New York portfolio at a significant discount to replacement cost," said Bruce W. Duncan, Equity Residential's CEO. "Selling assets in non-core, slower growth markets, and using that capital as a primary source to fund acquisitions in high-barrier markets is at the center of our portfolio strategy. This acquisition is a prime example of that plan in action."

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, as well as the closing of the larger transaction between The Carlyle Group, Extell and the Hong Kong consortium. The company anticipates closing in the third or fourth quarter of 2005.

Forward Looking Statements

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions made by management. While Equity Residential's management believes the assumptions underlying its forward-looking statements are reasonable, such information is subject to uncertainties and may involve certain risks, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond management's control. As such, these statements are not guarantees of future performance, results or events. Equity Residential assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.

Equity Residential, an S&P 500 company, is the largest publicly traded apartment company in America. Nationwide, Equity Residential owns or has investments in 934 properties in 32 states and the District of Columbia, consisting of 198,299 units. For more information on Equity Residential, please visit our website at www.equityresidential.com.