Our strategy
TARGETING THE BEST US MARKETS
We have a more than 25-year history in some of the best performing US markets – those with key structural advantages. These markets are located in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Northwest, Northern and Southern California, Colorado and Southeast Florida regions of the country. Our in-house market research team, guided by proprietary models, identifies the best submarkets for growth. Often challenging conventional wisdom, data-driven insights guide us to smart, targeted growth.
CREATING DISTINCTIVE BRANDS AND EXPERIENCES
We have created three distinct apartment community brands based on a deep knowledge of our customers and what they are looking for in an apartment living experience. Our three offerings – Avalon, AVA and eaves by Avalon – allow us to address different needs of the renter market, more deeply penetrate our core markets, reach new customers, and better serve existing residents.
GENERATING GROWTH WITH PROVEN PLATFORMS: DEVELOPMENT, REDEVELOPMENT, ACQUISITIONS
Our decentralized, fully integrated development and construction platform has been integral to our success and a leading generator of value since our founding as a public company. We understand what it takes to bring sites through the entitlements process while minimizing risk along the way. And, since development is a local business, we maintain 13 regional offices, each fully staffed with a team of professionals in development, construction, and residential services. We choose to act as our own general contractor in most cases, allowing us to further control costs and quality while ensuring that the communities we develop are built to last.
In addition to developing new communities, redeveloping current communities has proven an effective way to improve our competitive position, reshape our portfolio and create value. Our redevelopment teams keep our communities fresh and help implement our three-brand framework.
We also grow through acquisitions of existing assets, particularly at select points in the cycle when values are more compelling. Our acquisition activity provides a platform for growth in job markets that are not receptive to new development, and allows us to serve customer segments that are at lower price points than our newly built product.
ALLOCATING CAPITAL FOR GROWTH
Our strategy of growing through development, redevelopment and acquisitions is supported by a solid financial foundation. Our capital management strategy emphasizes matching long-term investments with long-term capital and focuses on accessing the most cost-effective mix of capital from a variety of sources. We have a track record of maintaining low leverage and healthy debt service coverage and producing sector-leading dividend growth.