Annual Report 2019
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019 strengthen the Company’s competitive position. Wealso celebrated our 25 share, our primary operating metric, by 6.4% while making significant investments that will We arepleasedto report anotherproductive year Overview: LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS an 8.4%compoundedgrowth rate of December 2019. Second, through several economic cycles, ourbusiness model has generated other words, $100investedinou compounded annual return forourshareholders fr traded company in 2019, with several notableachievements: First, we generated a 16.6% to theS&P500Dividend which has increased every year. Fina $10.00 $12.00 $14.00 2000% 5000% 6000% 3000% 4000% 1000% $0.00 $2.00 $6.00 $8.00 $4.00 0% 1994 1994 1995 1995 ESS 1996 1996 1997 1997 1998 1998 Index. Aristocrat 1999 NAREIT AllEquity 1999 Dividend ShareGrowth and FFOPer Total Shareholder Return SinceIPO ShareholderReturn Total 2000 2000 r IPOwith dividends reinvested would be worth about $5,070 as 2001 in FFO per share anda 6.4% rate 2001 Share Dividend Per Years EndingDecember31 Years lly, we joined a very elite grou 2002 2002 2003 2003 2004 2004 2005 2005 S&P 500 2006 om theIPOin1994thro 2006 per FFO core grew we which during 2019, in Total FFO Per Share Per FFO Total 2007 2007 2008 2008 2009 2009 2010 2010 NAREIT Equity 2011 2011 p ofcompanies with our addition of growth in ourcash dividend, 2012 2012 2013 2013 ugh December 2019. In 2014 2014 Apartments th 2015 2015 yearas apublicly 2016 2016 2017 2017 2018 2018 2019 2019 Our investment philosophy is straightforward – utilize market research to identify large metros with the greatest projected housing need, typically areas with strong local economies and job growth, constraints to new housing supply, and sufficient liquidity to facilitate real estate transactions. Beyond our investment philosophy, we believe that it is the consistency of execution that sets Essex apart. Superior financial results depend on continuous improvement in our capital-allocation and investment processes, along with high standards for performance and integrity that foster an ownership culture throughout the organization. Again, the results are compelling: over the past decade, our same-property NOI growth has increased 71%, versus 53% for our peers, and Core FFO per share has increased 146%, almost double our peers. As we prepare for the next 25 years, our focus has been to embed our key cultural characteristics in future leaders. 10 Year Cumulative Growth Relative to Peer Group(1) ESS Peers 160% 146% 140% 120% 100% 80% 75% 71% 60% 53% 40% 20% 0% Core FFO/Share Same-Property NOI Growth (1) Peers include four multifamily REITs (EQR, UDR, AVB, AIV) 2019 Recap: Early 2019 began where 2018 left off, with depressed equity prices and our stock trading at a large discount to NAV. We took advantage of the market volatility by selling property and buying back our stock, seeking to arbitrage depressed stock valuations against a strong transaction market for apartments. As the year progressed, concerns over global trade eased, financial conditions improved, interest rates fell and Essex stock generated a 25.9% total return in 2019, in-line with the NAREIT Apartment Index. As our Company’s cost of capital improved, we responded by aggressively executing $856 million of acquisitions and $142 million of structured finance investments, both exceeding the high ends of our original guidance ranges. We funded a portion of these investments and maturing debt with the issuance of $1.1 billion of unsecured bonds, including $550M of bonds offered with a 3.0% coupon, the lowest in the Company’s history. These transactions, along with improved same-property growth from our apartment communities, helped contribute to the Core FFO growth noted previously, substantially better than expected at the beginning of the year. Unlike the volatility experienced in the financial markets, the Company’s supply & demand conditions remained steady and favorable, leading to same-property revenue growth of 3.4% in 2019. New apartment supply was challenging in some areas, although we believe that generally supply levels are declining and headwinds to apartment development continue to intensify. Demand for rental housing remained strong, driven by healthy economic growth nationwide and the vibrant technology industries in Northern California and Seattle. We were pleased to deliver three development projects in 2019, all of which have been received with strong leasing demand. The Company continues to invest in new technologies that will strengthen our platform and improve our competitive position. In 2019, we launched a new website with functionality that will enable our digital leasing strategy: in the near future, prospective customers will be able to complete the entire leasing process from the convenience of his or her mobile phone. As well, after years of product and market testing, the company began rolling out smart-home technologies in select communities. Given positive customer feedback and attractive returns on capital, we plan to expand the use of smart-home technologies throughout our portfolio. Investing in our people and our community is an equally important aspect of building a sustainable business. In 2019, we published our inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report which serves to highlight the Company’s long history of environmental stewardship and community engagement as well as establishes ambitious goals for the future. We were recognized by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark in 2019, earning our fourth consecutive “Green Star” for sustainability, their highest possible designation. We encourage our investors to explore our CSR report for additional details about the company’s accomplishments with respect to sustainability and environmental responsibility. Looking Ahead We started 2020 in a favorable position with an attractive cost of capital and a solid fundamental outlook for housing supply and demand. As this letter is written, however, the Coronavirus/Covid- 19 pandemic is spreading around the globe, with unpredictable and unprecedented challenges for businesses, health systems, governments, and capital markets. In these early stages of the pandemic, we endeavor to aggressively implement government mandates and protocols recommended by health officials in pursuit of key objectives, including: helping slow the spread of infection, pursuing a safe workplace for Essex personnel, and providing essential housing services amid chronic housing shortages. The company’s strong financial condition and experienced management team will be key competitive advantages in 2020, as we remain confident that the Company will identify opportunities as we confront these challenges, emerging as an even stronger company. Thank you We thank our shareholders, employees, partners, and residents for their support and contributions over the past 25 years. We are well positioned and excited for the next quarter century. Sincerely, George M. Marcus Michael J. Schall Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer 2019 FORM 10-K FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this Annual Report to Stockholders, which are not historical facts, may be considered forward- looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to the Company’s expectations, estimates, assumptions, hopes, intentions, beliefs and strategies regarding the future, including statements regarding rental growth generally and in our specific markets, the impact of public health pandemics, such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition, timing of completion of current development and redevelopment projects and the stabilization dates of such projects, expectations as to the total projected costs of development and redevelopment projects, future acquisitions, the Company’s development and redevelopment pipeline and the sources of funding for it, the anticipated performance of existing properties, anticipated property and growth trends in various geographic regions, future market conditions, unemployment rates, the use and acceptance by tenants of new technologies, economic conditions and economic growth, and rental affordability. Such forward-looking statements involve the risk that actual results could be materially different from those described in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to be materially different include, but are not limited to, that there may be a downturn in general economic conditions, the real estate industry and the markets in which the Company's communities are located, including as a result of public health pandemics, such as the recent COVID-19 outbreak, the failure of certain anticipated acquisitions to materialize, that the Company may fail to achieve its business objectives, occupancy rates and rental demand may be adversely affected by competition and local economic and market conditions, including as a result of the recent COVID-19 outbreak or other public health pandemics or disasters, that the actual completion of development and redevelopment projects will be subject to delays, that the stabilization dates of such projects will be delayed, that the total projected costs of current development and redevelopment projects will exceed expectations, that such development and redevelopment projects will not be completed, that development and redevelopment projects and acquisitions will fail to meet expectations, that there