Reportable Segments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2010

Reportable Segments [Abstract]

Reportable Segments

19. Reportable Segments

     Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by senior management. Senior management decides how resources are allocated and assesses performance on a monthly basis.

     The Company’s primary business is the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties, which includes the generation of rental and other related income through the leasing of apartment units to residents. Senior management evaluates the performance of each of our apartment communities individually and geographically, and both on a same store and non-same store basis; however, each of our apartment communities generally has similar economic characteristics, residents, products and services. The Company’s operating segments have been aggregated by geography in a manner identical to that which is provided to its chief operating decision maker.

     The Company’s fee and asset management, development (including its partially owned properties), condominium conversion and corporate housing (Equity Corporate Housing or “ECH”) activities are immaterial and do not individually meet the threshold requirements of a reportable segment and as such, have been aggregated in the “Other” segment in the tables presented below.

     All revenues are from external customers and there is no customer who contributed 10% or more of the Company’s total revenues during the three years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 or 2008.

     The primary financial measure for the Company’s rental real estate segment is net operating income (“NOI”), which represents rental income less: 1) property and maintenance expense; 2) real estate taxes and insurance expense; and 3) property management expense (all as reflected in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations). The Company believes that NOI is helpful to investors as a supplemental measure of its operating performance because it is a direct measure of the actual operating results of the Company’s apartment communities. Current year NOI is compared to prior year NOI and current year budgeted NOI as a measure of financial performance. The following tables present NOI for each segment from our rental real estate specific to continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, as well as total assets for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31, 2010
	Northeast		Northwest		Southeast		Southwest		Other (3)			Total
Rental income:
Same store (1)	$	574,147	$	353,123	$	383,475	$	417,523	$	—		$	1,728,268
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		112,747		18,042		9,271		33,456		84,259			257,775
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(28,670	)		(28,670	)
Total rental income		686,894		371,165		392,746		450,979		55,589			1,957,373
Operating expenses:
Same store (1)		215,365		132,331		157,518		149,449		—			654,663
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		54,780		7,950		4,126		15,136		69,823			151,815
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(11,248	)		(11,248	)
Total operating expenses		270,145		140,281		161,644		164,585		58,575			795,230
NOI:
Same store (1)		358,782		220,792		225,957		268,074		—			1,073,605
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		57,967		10,092		5,145		18,320		14,436			105,960
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(17,422	)		(17,422	)
Total NOI	$	416,749	$	230,884	$	231,102	$	286,394	$	(2,986	)	$	1,162,143
Total assets	$	6,211,534	$	2,665,707	$	2,602,318	$	3,240,170	$	1,464,465		$	16,184,194

(1)	Same store primarily includes all properties acquired or completed and stabilized prior to January 1, 2009, less properties subsequently sold, which represented 112,042 apartment units.
(2)	Non-same store primarily includes properties acquired after January 1, 2009, plus any properties in lease-up and not stabilized as of January 1, 2009.
(3)	Other includes ECH, development, condominium conversion overhead of $0.6 million and other corporate operations. Also reflects a $10.5 million elimination of rental income recorded in Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest operating segments related to ECH.
(4)	Properties sold — March YTD 2011 reflects discontinued operations for properties sold during the first three months of 2011.

	Year Ended December 31, 2009
	Northeast		Northwest		Southeast		Southwest		Other (3)			Total
Rental income:
Same store (1)	$	566,518	$	357,502	$	383,239	$	423,076	$	—		$	1,730,335
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		23,195		2,010		4,268		16,985		69,364			115,822
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(28,304	)		(28,304	)
Total rental income		589,713		359,512		387,507		440,061		41,060			1,817,853
Operating expenses:
Same store (1)		211,352		129,696		158,977		148,483		—			648,508
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		12,798		1,851		1,727		9,418		68,692			94,486
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(11,334	)		(11,334	)
Total operating expenses		224,150		131,547		160,704		157,901		57,358			731,660
NOI:
Same store (1)		355,166		227,806		224,262		274,593		—			1,081,827
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		10,397		159		2,541		7,567		672			21,336
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (4)		—		—		—		—		(16,970	)		(16,970	)
Total NOI	$	365,563	$	227,965	$	226,803	$	282,160	$	(16,298	)	$	1,086,193
Total assets	$	5,435,072	$	2,474,775	$	2,674,499	$	2,971,396	$	1,861,773		$	15,417,515

(1)	Same store primarily includes all properties acquired or completed and stabilized prior to January 1, 2009, less properties subsequently sold, which represented 112,042 apartment units.
(2)	Non-same store primarily includes properties acquired after January 1, 2009, plus any properties in lease-up and not stabilized as of January 1, 2009.
(3)	Other includes ECH, development, condominium conversion overhead of $1.4 million and other corporate operations. Also reflects a $9.6 million elimination of rental income recorded in Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest operating segments related to ECH.

(4) Properties sold — March YTD 2011 reflects discontinued operations for properties sold during the first three months of 2011.

	Year Ended December 31, 2008
	Northeast		Northwest		Southeast		Southwest		Other (3)			Total
Rental income:
Same store (1)	$	553,712	$	372,197	$	407,871	$	444,403	$	—		$	1,778,183
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		37,000		18,347		6,090		23,400		101,934			186,771
Properties sold in 2010 (4)		—		—		—		—		(88,681	)		(88,681	)
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (5)		—		—		—		—		(28,870	)		(28,870	)
Total rental income		590,712		390,544		413,961		467,803		(15,617	)		1,847,403
Operating expenses:
Same store (1)		199,673		128,448		166,022		150,980		—			645,123
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		16,806		7,664		2,995		14,363		101,742			143,570
Properties sold in 2010 (4)		—		—		—		—		(31,205	)		(31,205	)
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (5)		—		—		—		—		(11,069	)		(11,069	)
Total operating expenses		216,479		136,112		169,017		165,343		59,468			746,419
NOI:
Same store (1)		354,039		243,749		241,849		293,423		—			1,133,060
Non-same store/other (2) (3)		20,194		10,683		3,095		9,037		192			43,201
Properties sold in 2010 (4)		—		—		—		—		(57,476	)		(57,476	)
Properties sold — March YTD 2011 (5)		—		—		—		—		(17,801	)		(17,801	)
Total NOI	$	374,233	$	254,432	$	244,944	$	302,460	$	(75,085	)	$	1,100,984

(1)	Same store primarily includes all properties acquired or completed and stabilized prior to January 1, 2008, less properties subsequently sold, which represented 113,598 apartment units.
(2)	Non-same store primarily includes properties acquired after January 1, 2008, plus any properties in lease-up and not stabilized as of January 1, 2008.
(3)	Other includes ECH, development, condominium conversion overhead of $2.8 million and other corporate operations. Also reflects a $13.6 million elimination of rental income recorded in Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest operating segments related to ECH.
(4)	Reflects discontinued operations for properties sold during 2010.
(5)	Properties sold — March YTD 2011 reflects discontinued operations for properties sold during the first three months of 2011.

Note: Markets included in the above geographic segments are as follows:

(a)	Northeast — New England (excluding Boston), Boston, New York Metro, DC Northern Virginia and Suburban Maryland.
(b)	Northwest — Denver, Portland, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle/Tacoma.
(c)	Southeast — Atlanta, Jacksonville, Orlando, South Florida and Tampa.
(d)	Southwest — Albuquerque, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix and San Diego.

     The following table presents a reconciliation of NOI from our rental real estate specific to continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2010			2009			2008
Rental income	$	1,957,373		$	1,817,853		$	1,847,403
Property and maintenance expense		(490,301	)		(456,628	)		(477,814	)
Real estate taxes and insurance expense		(224,842	)		(203,732	)		(191,781	)
Property management expense		(80,087	)		(71,300	)		(76,824	)
Total operating expenses		(795,230	)		(731,660	)		(746,419	)
Net operating income	$	1,162,143		$	1,086,193		$	1,100,984