Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2010

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

Due to the Company’s ability as general partner to control either through ownership or by contract the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries, the Operating Partnership and each such subsidiary has been consolidated with the Company for financial reporting purposes, except for an unconsolidated development land parcel and our military housing properties. The consolidated financial statements also include all variable interest entities for which the Company is the primary beneficiary.

Real Estate Assets and Depreciation of Investment in Real Estate

Effective for business combinations on or after January 1, 2009, an acquiring entity is required to recognize all assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a transaction at the acquisition-date fair value with limited exceptions. In addition, an acquiring entity is required to expense acquisition-related costs as incurred (amounts are included in the other expenses line item in the consolidated statements of operations), value noncontrolling interests at fair value at the acquisition date and expense restructuring costs associated with an acquired business.

The Company allocates the purchase price of properties to net tangible and identified intangible assets acquired based on their fair values. In making estimates of fair values for purposes of allocating purchase price, the Company utilizes a number of sources, including independent appraisals that may be obtained in connection with the acquisition or financing of the respective property, our own analysis of recently acquired and existing comparable properties in our portfolio and other market data. The Company also considers information obtained about each property as a result of its pre-acquisition due diligence, marketing and leasing activities in estimating the fair value of the tangible and intangible assets acquired. The Company allocates the purchase price of acquired real estate to various components as follows:

• Land – Based on actual purchase price if acquired separately or market research/comparables if acquired with an operating property.

• Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment – Ranges between $8,000 and $13,000 per apartment unit acquired as an estimate of the fair value of the appliances and fixtures inside an apartment unit. The per-apartment unit amount applied depends on the type of apartment building acquired. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method over an estimated useful life of five years.

• In-Place Leases – The Company considers the value of acquired in-place leases and the amortization period is the average remaining term of each respective in-place acquired lease.

• Other Intangible Assets – The Company considers whether it has acquired other intangible assets, including any customer relationship intangibles and the amortization period is the estimated useful life of the acquired intangible asset.

• Building – Based on the fair value determined on an “as-if vacant” basis. Depreciation is calculated on the straight-line method over an estimated useful life of thirty years.

Replacements inside an apartment unit such as appliances and carpeting are depreciated over a five-year estimated useful life. Expenditures for ordinary maintenance and repairs are expensed to operations as incurred and significant renovations and improvements that improve and/or extend the useful life of the asset are capitalized over their estimated useful life, generally five to ten years. Initial direct leasing costs are expensed as incurred as such expense approximates the deferral and amortization of initial direct leasing costs over the lease terms. Property sales or dispositions are recorded when title transfers to unrelated third parties, contingencies have been removed and sufficient cash consideration has been received by the Company. Upon disposition, the related costs and accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective accounts. Any gain or loss on sale is recognized in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

The Company classifies real estate assets as real estate held for disposition when it is certain a property will be disposed of (see further discussion below).

The Company classifies properties under development and/or expansion and properties in the lease-up phase (including land) as construction-in-progress until construction has been completed and all certificates of occupancy permits have been obtained.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company periodically evaluates its long-lived assets, including its investments in real estate, for indicators of impairment. The judgments regarding the existence of impairment indicators are based on factors such as operational performance, market conditions and legal and environmental concerns, as well as the Company’s ability to hold and its intent with regard to each asset. Future events could occur which would cause the Company to conclude that impairment indicators exist and an impairment loss is warranted.

For long-lived assets to be held and used, the Company compares the expected future undiscounted cash flows for the long-lived asset against the carrying amount of that asset. If the sum of the estimated undiscounted cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, the Company would record an impairment loss for the difference between the estimated fair value and the carrying amount of the asset.

For long-lived assets to be disposed of, an impairment loss is recognized when the estimated fair value of the asset, less the estimated cost to sell, is less than the carrying amount of the asset measured at the time that the Company has determined it will sell the asset. Long-lived assets held for disposition and the related liabilities are separately reported, with the long-lived assets reported at the lower of their carrying amounts or their estimated fair values, less their costs to sell, and are not depreciated after reclassification to real estate held for disposition.

Cost Capitalization

See the Real Estate Assets and Depreciation of Investment in Real Estate section for a discussion of the Company’s policy with respect to capitalization vs. expensing of fixed asset/repair and maintenance costs. In addition, the Company capitalizes an allocation of the payroll and associated costs of employees directly responsible for and who spend all of their time on the supervision of major capital and/or renovation projects. These costs are reflected on the balance sheet as an increase to depreciable property.

For all development projects, the Company uses its professional judgment in determining whether such costs meet the criteria for capitalization or must be expensed as incurred. The Company capitalizes interest, real estate taxes and insurance and payroll and associated costs for those individuals directly responsible for and who spend all of their time on development activities, with capitalization ceasing no later than 90 days following issuance of the certificate of occupancy. These costs are reflected on the balance sheet as construction-in-progress for each specific property. The Company expenses as incurred all payroll costs of on-site employees working directly at our properties, except as noted above on our development properties prior to certificate of occupancy issuance and on specific major renovations at selected properties when additional incremental employees are hired.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all demand deposits, money market accounts and investments in certificates of deposit and repurchase agreements purchased with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents at financial institutions. The combined account balances at one or more institutions typically exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance coverage, and, as a result, there is a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. The Company believes that the risk is not significant, as the Company does not anticipate the financial institutions’ non-performance.

Investment Securities

Investment securities are included in other assets in the consolidated balance sheets. These securities are classified as held-to-maturity and carried at amortized cost if management has the positive intent and ability to hold the securities to maturity. Otherwise, the securities are classified as available-for-sale and carried at estimated fair value with unrealized gains and losses included in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, a separate component of shareholders’ equity.

Deferred Financing Costs

Deferred financing costs include fees and costs incurred to obtain the Company’s lines of credit and long-term financings. These costs are amortized over the terms of the related debt. Unamortized financing costs are written off when debt is retired before the maturity date. The accumulated amortization of such deferred financing costs was $43.9 million and $34.6 million at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Including Derivative Instruments

The valuation of financial instruments requires the Company to make estimates and judgments that affect the fair value of the instruments. The Company, where possible, bases the fair values of its financial instruments, including its derivative instruments, on listed market prices and third party quotes. Where these are not available, the Company bases its estimates on current instruments with similar terms and maturities or on other factors relevant to the financial instruments.

In the normal course of business, the Company is exposed to the effect of interest rate changes. The Company seeks to manage these risks by following established risk management policies and procedures including the use of derivatives to hedge interest rate risk on debt instruments.

The Company has a policy of only entering into contracts with major financial institutions based upon their credit ratings and other factors. When viewed in conjunction with the underlying and offsetting exposure that the derivatives are designed to hedge, the Company has not sustained a material loss from these instruments nor does it anticipate any material adverse effect on its net income or financial position in the future from the use of derivatives.

The Company recognizes all derivatives as either assets or liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets and measures those instruments at fair value. In addition, fair value adjustments will affect either shareholders’ equity or net income depending on whether the derivative instruments qualify as a hedge for accounting purposes and, if so, the nature of the hedging activity. When the terms of an underlying transaction are modified, or when the underlying transaction is terminated or completed, all changes in the fair value of the instrument are marked-to-market with changes in value included in net income each period until the instrument matures. Any derivative instrument used for risk management that does not meet the hedging criteria is marked-to-market each period. The Company does not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes.

Revenue Recognition

Rental income attributable to residential leases is recorded on a straight-line basis, which is not materially different than if it were recorded when due from residents and recognized monthly as it was earned. Leases entered into between a resident and a property for the rental of an apartment unit are generally year-to-year, renewable upon consent of both parties on an annual or monthly basis. Fee and asset management revenue and interest income are recorded on an accrual basis.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company expenses share-based compensation such as restricted shares and share options. The fair value of the option grants are recognized over the vesting period of the options. The fair value for the Company’s share options was estimated at the time the share options were granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions:

	2010		2009		2008
Expected volatility (1)		32.4%		26.8%		20.3%
Expected life (2)		5 years		5 years		5 years
Expected dividend yield (3)		4.85%		4.68%		4.95%
Risk-free interest rate (4)		2.29%		1.89%		2.67%
Option valuation per share		$6.18		$3.38		$4.08

(1) Expected volatility – Estimated based on the historical volatility of EQR’s share price, on a monthly basis, for a period matching the expected life of each grant.

(2) Expected life – Approximates the actual weighted average life of all share options granted since the Company went public in 1993.

(3) Expected dividend yield – Calculated by averaging the historical annual yield on EQR shares for a period matching the expected life of each grant, with the annual yield calculated by dividing actual dividends by the average price of EQR’s shares in a given year.

(4) Risk-free interest rate – The most current U.S. Treasury rate available prior to the grant date for a period matching the expected life of each grant.

The valuation method and assumptions are the same as those the Company used in accounting for option expense in its consolidated financial statements. The Black-Scholes option valuation model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. This model is only one method of valuing options and the Company’s use of this model should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its accuracy. Because the Company’s share options have characteristics significantly different from those of traded options, and because changes in the subjective input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, in management’s opinion, the existing models do not necessarily provide a reliable single measure of the fair value of its share options and the actual value of the options may be significantly different.

Income and Other Taxes

Due to the structure of the Company as a REIT and the nature of the operations of its operating properties, no provision for federal income taxes has been made at the EQR level. Historically, the Company has generally only incurred certain state and local income, excise and franchise taxes. The Company has elected Taxable REIT Subsidiary (“TRS”) status for certain of its corporate subsidiaries, primarily those entities engaged in condominium conversion and corporate housing activities and as a result, these entities will incur both federal and state income taxes on any taxable income of such entities after consideration of any net operating losses.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. These assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates for which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effects of changes in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized in earnings in the period enacted. The Company’s deferred tax assets are generally the result of tax affected amortization of goodwill, differing depreciable lives on capitalized assets and the timing of expense recognition for certain accrued liabilities. As of December 31, 2010, the Company has recorded a deferred tax asset of approximately $38.7 million, which is fully offset by a valuation allowance due to the uncertainty in forecasting future TRS taxable income.

The Company provided for income, franchise and excise taxes allocated as follows in the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008 (amounts in thousands):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2010		2009			2008
Income and other tax expense (benefit) (1)	$	292	$	2,716		$	5,235
Discontinued operations, net (2)		86		(1,073	)		(1,797	)
Provision for income, franchise and excise taxes (3)	$	378	$	1,643		$	3,438

(1) Primarily includes state and local income, excise and franchise taxes.

(2) Primarily represents federal income taxes (recovered) on the gains on sales of condominium units owned by a TRS and included in discontinued operations. Also represents state and local income, excise and franchise taxes on operating properties sold and included in discontinued operations.

(3) All provisions for income tax amounts are current and none are deferred.

The Company’s TRSs carried back approximately $7.3 million of 2008 net operating losses (“NOL”) to 2006. The remaining NOL from the 2008 tax year, as well as the NOLs generated in 2009 and 2010, are available for carryforward to future tax years. The Company’s TRSs have approximately $59.3 million of NOL carryforwards available as of January 1, 2011 that will expire in 2028, 2029 and 2030.

During the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, the Company’s tax treatment of dividends and distributions were as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2010		2009		2008
Tax treatment of dividends and distributions:
Ordinary dividends	$	0.607	$	0.807	$	0.699
Long-term capital gain		0.622		0.558		0.755
Unrecaptured section 1250 gain		0.241		0.275		0.476
Dividends and distributions declared per Common Share outstanding	$	1.470	$	1.640	$	1.930

The cost of land and depreciable property, net of accumulated depreciation, for federal income tax purposes as of December 31, 2010 and 2009 was approximately $11.1 billion and $10.4 billion, respectively.

Noncontrolling Interests

A noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary (minority interest) is in most cases an ownership interest in the consolidated entity that should be reported as equity in the consolidated financial statements and separate from the parent company’s equity. In addition, consolidated net income is required to be reported at amounts that include the amounts attributable to both the parent and the noncontrolling interest and the amount of consolidated net income attributable to the parent and the noncontrolling interest are required to be disclosed on the face of the Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 3 for further discussion.

Operating Partnership: Net income is allocated to noncontrolling interests based on their respective ownership percentage of the Operating Partnership. The ownership percentage is calculated by dividing the number of units of limited partnership interest (“OP Units”) held by the noncontrolling interests by the total OP Units held by the noncontrolling interests and EQR. Issuance of additional common shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share (the “Common Shares”), and OP Units changes the ownership interests of both the noncontrolling interests and EQR. Such transactions and the related proceeds are treated as capital transactions.

Partially Owned Properties: The Company reflects noncontrolling interests in partially owned properties on the balance sheet for the portion of properties consolidated by the Company that are not wholly owned by the Company. The earnings or losses from those properties attributable to the noncontrolling interests are reflected as noncontrolling interests in partially owned properties in the consolidated statements of operations.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests – Operating Partnership: The Company classifies Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests – Operating Partnership in the mezzanine section of the consolidated balance sheets for the portion of OP Units that the Company is required, either by contract or securities law, to deliver registered EQR Common Shares to the exchanging OP Unit holder. The redeemable noncontrolling interest units are adjusted to the greater of carrying value or fair market value based on the Common Share price of EQR at the end of each respective reporting period.

Use of Estimates

In preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications considered necessary for a fair presentation have been made to the prior period financial statements in order to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications have not changed the results of operations or equity.

Other

In June 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued The FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, which superseded all then-existing non-SEC accounting and reporting standards and became the source of authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principles recognized by the FASB to be applied by non-governmental entities. The Company adopted the codification as required, effective for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. The adoption of the codification has no impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position but changed the way we refer to accounting literature in our reports.

Effective January 1, 2010, in an effort to improve financial standards for transfers of financial assets, more stringent conditions for reporting a transfer of a portion of a financial asset as a sale (e.g. loan participations) are required, the concept of a “qualifying special-purpose entity” and special guidance for guaranteed mortgage securitizations are eliminated, other sale-accounting criteria is clarified and the initial measurement of a transferor’s interest in transferred financial assets is changed. This does not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position.

Effective January 1, 2010, the analysis for identifying the primary beneficiary of a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”) has been simplified by replacing the previous quantitative-based analysis with a framework that is based more on qualitative judgments. The analysis requires the primary beneficiary of a VIE to be identified as the party that both (a) has the power to direct the activities of a VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance and (b) has an obligation to absorb losses or a right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. For the Company, this includes its consolidated development partnerships as the Company provides substantially all of the capital for these ventures (other than third party mortgage debt, if any). For the Company, these requirements affected only disclosures and had no impact on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position. See Note 6 for further discussion.

The Company is required to make certain disclosures regarding noncontrolling interests in consolidated limited-life subsidiaries. The Company is the controlling partner in various consolidated partnerships owning 24 properties and 5,232 apartment units and various completed and uncompleted development properties having a noncontrolling interest book value of $8.0 million at December 31, 2010. Some of these partnership agreements contain provisions that require the partnerships to be liquidated through the sale of their assets upon reaching a date specified in each respective partnership agreement. The Company, as controlling partner, has an obligation to cause the property owning partnerships to distribute the proceeds of liquidation to the Noncontrolling Interests in these Partially Owned Properties only to the extent that the net proceeds received by the partnerships from the sale of their assets warrant a distribution based on the partnership agreements. As of December 31, 2010, the Company estimates the value of Noncontrolling Interest distributions would have been approximately $53.0 million (“Settlement Value”) had the partnerships been liquidated. This Settlement Value is based on estimated third party consideration realized by the partnerships upon disposition of the Partially Owned Properties and is net of all other assets and liabilities, including yield maintenance on the mortgages encumbering the properties, that would have been due on December 31, 2010 had those mortgages been prepaid. Due to, among other things, the inherent uncertainty in the sale of real estate assets, the amount of any potential distribution to the Noncontrolling Interests in the Company’s Partially Owned Properties is subject to change. To the extent that the partnerships’ underlying assets are worth less than the underlying liabilities, the Company has no obligation to remit any consideration to the Noncontrolling Interests in these Partially Owned Properties.

Effective beginning the quarter ended June 30, 2009, disclosures about fair value of financial instruments are required for interim reporting periods in summarized financial information for publicly traded companies as well as in annual financial statements. This does not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position. See Note 11 for further discussion.

Effective January 1, 2010, companies are required to separately disclose the amounts of significant transfers of assets and liabilities into and out of Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy and the reasons for those transfers. Companies must also develop and disclose their policy for determining when transfers between levels are recognized. In addition, companies are required to provide fair value disclosures for each class rather than each major category of assets and liabilities. For fair value measurements using significant other observable inputs (Level 2) or significant unobservable inputs (Level 3), companies are required to disclose the valuation technique and the inputs used in determining fair value for each class of assets and liabilities. This does not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or financial position. See Note 11 for further discussion.

Effective January 1, 2011, companies will be required to separately disclose purchases, sales, issuances and settlements on a gross basis in the reconciliation of recurring Level 3 fair value measurements. The Company does not expect this will have a material effect on its consolidated results of operations or financial position.

Effective January 1, 2009, in an effort to improve financial standards for derivative instruments and hedging activities, companies are required to enhance disclosures to enable investors to better understand their effects on an entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows. Among other requirements, entities are required to provide enhanced disclosures about: (1) how and why an entity uses derivative instruments; (2) how derivative instruments and related hedged items are accounted for; and (3) how derivative instruments and related hedged items affect an entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows. Other than the enhanced disclosure requirements, this does not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. See Note 11 for further discussion.

Effective January 1, 2009, issuers of certain convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash on conversion were required to separately account for the liability and equity components of the instrument in a manner that reflects each issuer’s nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. As the Company is required to apply this retrospectively, the accounting for the Operating Partnership’s $650.0 million ($482.5 million outstanding at December 31, 2010) 3.85% convertible unsecured notes that were issued in August 2006 and mature in August 2026 was affected. The Company recognized $18.6 million, $20.6 million and $24.4 million in interest expense related to the stated coupon rate of 3.85% for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The amount of the conversion option as of the date of issuance calculated by the Company using a 5.80% effective interest rate was $44.3 million and is being amortized to interest expense over the expected life of the convertible notes (through the first put date on August 18, 2011). Total amortization of the cash discount and conversion option discount on the unsecured notes resulted in a reduction to earnings of approximately $7.8 million and $10.6 million, respectively, or $0.03 per share and $0.04 per share, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, and is anticipated to result in a reduction to earnings of approximately $5.0 million or $0.02 per share for the year ended December 31, 2011. In addition, the Company decreased the January 1, 2009 balance of retained earnings by $27.0 million, decreased the January 1, 2009 balance of notes by $17.3 million and increased the January 1, 2009 balance of paid in capital by $44.3 million. Due to the required retrospective application, it resulted in a reduction to earnings of approximately $13.3 million or $0.05 per share for the year ended December 31, 2008. The carrying amount of the conversion option remaining in paid in capital was $44.3 million at both December 31, 2010 and 2009. The unamortized cash and conversion option discounts totaled $5.0 million and $12.8 million at December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively.