Organization, Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015 community home	Mar. 31, 2014	Jan. 31, 2015
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of Real Estate Properties	254us-gaap_NumberOfRealEstateProperties
Number of apartment homes included in operating apartment communities owned	74,178
Basic and diluted shares outstanding
Weighted average common shares - basic	131,883,741	129,288,771
Weighted average DownREIT units outstanding (in shares)	7,500	7,500
Effect of dilutive securities (in shares)	1,284,532	333,286
Weighted average common shares - diluted	133,175,773	129,629,557
Calculation of Earnings per Share - basic
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$ 208,144,000	$ 141,739,000
Net income allocated to unvested restricted shares	(529,000)	(232,000)
Net income attributable to common stockholders, adjusted	207,615,000us-gaap_UndistributedEarnings	141,507,000us-gaap_UndistributedEarnings
Weighted average common shares - basic	131,883,741	129,288,771
Earnings per common share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 1.57us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic	$ 1.09us-gaap_EarningsPerShareBasic
Calculation of Earnings per Share - diluted
Net income attributable to common stockholders	208,144,000	141,739,000
Add: noncontrolling interests of DownREIT unitholders in consolidated partnerships, including discontinued operations	9,000	9,000
Adjusted net income available to common stockholders	208,153,000	141,748,000
Weighted average common shares - diluted	133,175,773	129,629,557
Earnings per common share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 1.56us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted	$ 1.09us-gaap_EarningsPerShareDiluted
Options to purchase shares of common stock excluded from computation of earnings per share amount (in shares)		605,899
Estimated forfeiture rate of stock options (as a percent)	1.00%
Avalon at Edgewater [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of Real Estate Properties	2
Number Of Real Estate Properties, Uninhabitable	1
Number Of Units In Real Estate Property, Uninhabitable	240
Number of apartment homes included in operating apartment communities owned	168
Loss Contingency New Class Action Claims Filed Number	4
Loss Contingency, Number of Plaintiffs	100
Loss Contingency, Insurance, Percentage Of Policy Amount Company Is Obligated To Fund	12.00%
Loss Contingency, Insurance, Policy Amount For Calculating Self-Insurance Liability			50,000,000
Fixed Rate Secured Mortgage Note 5.95% Interest Rate Due In May 2019 [Member] \| Secured notes \| Avalon at Edgewater [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage	5.95%
Long-term Debt, Gross	$ 74,718,000

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