Essex Announces Its 21st Consecutive Annual Dividend Increase

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 25, 2015) -  Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) announced today its Board of Directors has approved a $0.56 per share annualized increase to its regular cash dividend. The first quarter dividend distribution, payable on April 15, 2015 to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2015, will be $1.44 per share. The declared dividend represents a 10.8% increase over the Company's prior quarterly dividend. On an annualized basis, the dividend represents a distribution of $5.76 per common share.

The Board of Directors has also declared a regular quarterly distribution for its Series H Preferred Stock for the first quarter of 2015 in the amount of $0.44531 per share. The preferred dividend is payable on April 15, 2015 to Series H preferred stockholders of record on April 1, 2015.

The Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 1:00 p.m., at the Stanford Park Hotel, located at 100 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Shareholders of record as of February 27, 2015 will be entitled to vote at the meeting.

About Essex Property Trust, Inc.
Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 238 apartment communities with an additional 12 properties in various stages of active development. Additional information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at www.essex.com.