Updated on June 29th, 2026 by Bob Ciura
Apartment REITs have proved resilient to recessions thanks to the essential nature of their business. They also widely have high dividend yields well above the S&P 500 Index average.
And, with the Fed recently lowering rates, apartment REITs stand to benefit from a lower cost of capital.
You can download our full REIT list, along with important metrics such as dividend yields and market caps, by clicking on the link below:
As a result, apartment REITs are interesting candidates for income investors.
This article will discuss the prospects of the top 10 apartment REITs in our Sure Analysis Research Database.
The following 10 apartment REITs are listed by five-year expected annual returns, in order of lowest to highest:
Table of Contents
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Apartment REITs #10: Essex Property Trust (ESS)
Annual Expected Returns: 5.8%
Essex Property Trust was founded in 1971. The trust invests in West Coast multi-family residential proprieties where it engages in development, redevelopment, management and acquisition of apartment communities and a few other select properties.
Essex has ownership interests in several hundred apartment communities consisting of over 60,000 apartment homes. The trust has about 1,800 employees and produces approximately $1.6 billion in annual revenue.
Essex is concentrated on the West Coast of the U.S., including cities like Seattle and San Francisco.
On April 28, 2026, ESS shared its earnings report for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The REIT’s total revenue grew by 4.3% year-over-year to $484.8 million during the quarter.
That was mostly driven by a 2.9% growth rate in same-property revenues, which reflects multiple tailwinds in the quarter.
The biggest driver of this topline growth for the quarter was higher base rents (+2.2%), with higher ancillary income from parking and pet fees (+0.5%), and a 20 basis point uptick over the year-ago period in average same-property occupancy to 96.5%.
ESS’s core FFO per share edged 2.3% higher year-over-year to $4.06 during the quarter.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ESS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #9: Camden Property Trust (CPT)
Annual Expected Returns: 6.0%
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Houston, Texas, Camden Property Trust is one of the largest publicly traded multifamily real estate companies in the U.S.
The REIT owns, manages and develops multifamily apartment communities. It currently owns 172 properties that contain over 58,000 apartments.
On April 30th, 2026, Camden Property reported its Q1 results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. For the quarter, the company reported property revenue of $388.8 million, down from $390.6 million in Q1 2025.
Same-property revenues rose 0.2%, while same-property occupancy was 95.1%, compared to 95.4% last year. Same-property expenses increased 1.9% during the period, resulting in a 0.7% decline in same-property net operating income (NOI) year over year.
FFO totaled $122.9 million, or $1.15 per share, compared to $186.9 million, or $1.70 per share last year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Camden Property Trust (CPT) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #8: Equity Residential (EQR)
Annual Expected Returns: 8.1%
Equity Residential is one of the largest U.S. publicly-traded owners and operators of high-quality rental apartment properties with a portfolio primarily located in urban and dense suburban communities.
The properties of the trust are located in affluent areas around Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Southern California, San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver.
Equity Residential greatly benefits from the favorable characteristics of its target group. Affluent renters are highly educated, well employed and earn high incomes.
As a result, they pay approximately 20% of their incomes on rent and hence they are not burdened by their rent.
On April 28, 2026, EQR shared its earnings report for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The company’s rental income grew by 2.5% year-over-year to $779.8 million during the quarter.
That was powered by a 2.3% same store residential revenue growth rate over the year-ago period in the quarter. This was made possible by higher lease rates, higher ancillary income, vacancy improvements, and improvements in bad debt.
EQR announced that it was planning a merger of equals with AvalonBay Communities (AVB) to create one of the country’s leading real estate companies. Together, the two would have more than 180,000 rental apartments. It’s anticipated that the merger will be completed by the end of 2026..
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Equity Residential (EQR) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #7: AvalonBay Communities (AVB)
Annual Expected Returns: 8.5%
AvalonBay Communities is a multifamily REIT that owns a portfolio of several hundred apartment communities and is also an active developer of apartment communities.
The strategy of the REIT involves owning top-tier properties in the major metropolitan areas of New England, New York/New Jersey, Washington D.C., California, and the Pacific Northwest.
On April 27th, 2026, the REIT shared its earnings report for the first quarter ended March 31st, 2026. The company’s total revenue grew by 3.3% year-over-year to $770.3 million during the quarter.
This was driven by a combination of a 1.6% increase in same-store residential revenue, some communities that were in a lease-up phase in 2025 have now moved into the other stabilized category (contributing full rental income for the first time), and a 10 basis point uptick in economic occupancy over the year-ago period to 96.1%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on AvalonBay Communities (AVB) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #6: Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS)
Annual Expected Returns: 8.8%
Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc is a real estate investment trust which engages in the ownership and operation of lifestyle-oriented properties consisting primarily of manufactured home and recreational vehicle communities.
Equity LifeStyle Properties operates through the following segments: Property Operations; and Home Sales and Rentals Operations.
The Property Operations segment owns and operates land lease properties. The Home Sales and Rentals Operations segment purchases, sells, and leases homes at the properties.
On April 21st, 2026, Equity LifeStyle Properties reported first quarter for Fiscal Year 2026. The company delivered mixed first-quarter 2026 results, with revenue increasing 2.7% year over year to $397.6 million, slightly above expectations, while earnings per share of $0.54 missed estimates by $0.01.
Net income per share declined modestly to $0.56 from $0.57 last year, while FFO per share remained flat at $0.83. However, normalized FFO per share improved slightly to $0.84, reflecting stable operational performance.
Core property operating revenue increased 3.7%, while core income from property operations rose 4.9%, supported by expense growth of only 1.8%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on ELS (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #5: American Assets Trust (AAT)
Annual Expected Returns: 9.2%
American Assets Trust is a REIT that was formed in 2011 as a successor of American Assets, a privately held company founded in 1967.
AAT has great experience in acquiring, improving and developing office, retail and residential properties throughout the U.S., primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii.
Its office portfolio and its retail portfolio comprise of approximately 4.0 million and 3.1 million square feet, respectively. AAT also owns more than 2,000 multifamily units.
In late April, AAT reported (4/28/26) financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Same-store net operating income remained flat but funds from operations (FFO) per share declined -2% over the prior year’s quarter, mostly due to higher interest expense. AAT reiterated its lackluster guidance for 2026, expecting FFO per share of $1.96-$2.10.
We note that AAT has missed the analysts’ estimates only once in the last 21 quarters. We expect FFO per share of $2.05 this year, slightly above the mid-point of the guidance.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on American Assets Trust (AAT) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #4: Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA)
Annual Expected Returns: 9.3%
Mid-America Apartment Communities is a REIT that owns, operates and acquires apartment communities in the Southeast, Southwest and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.
It currently has ownership interest in ~102,000 apartment units across 16 states and the District of Columbia.
MAA is focused on the Sunbelt Region of the U.S., which has exhibited superior population growth and economic growth in the long run.
In late April, MAA reported (4/29/26) financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Same-store net operating income edged down -1.3% over the prior year’s quarter.
Core funds from operations (FFO) per share dipped -3%, from $2.30 to $2.23, in line with the analysts’ consensus. MAA has missed the analysts’ FFO estimates only in 3 of the last 34 quarters.
MAA has decelerated in the last 11 quarters due to high supply of new apartments in its markets but the volume of new apartments has begun to lose steam, with fewer new apartments expected this year.
Nevertheless, due to weak business momentum, MAA reaffirmed its lackluster guidance for 2026, expecting core FFO per share of $8.37-$8.69, thus implying a -2% decrease at the mid-point.
MAA has repeatedly proved conservative in its guidance and tends to raise its guidance many times throughout the year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #3: UDR, Inc. (UDR)
Annual Expected Returns: 10.4%
UDR, also known as United Dominion Realty Trust, is a luxury apartment REIT. The trust owns, operates, acquires, renovates, and develops multifamily apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets in the U.S.
A high barrier-to-entry market consists of limited land for new construction, complicated entitlement processes, low single-family home affordability and strong employment growth potential.
The majority of UDR’s real estate property value is established in Washington D.C., New York City, Orange County, California, and San Francisco.
On February 9th, 2026, UDR announced its 2026 dividend will be $1.74 per share, which represents a 1.2% increase and marks the company’s 15th consecutive annual dividend increase.
In April 2026, UDR announced it would begin paying monthly dividends in the amount of $0.145 per share, consistent with its previous $0.435 quarterly dividend. This could make the stock more appealing to certain investors.
UDR reported first quarter 2026 results on April 29th, 2026. The company’s adjusted funds from operations rose 2% year-over-year to $0.62 per share.
The quarterly AFFO payout ratio of 70% is secure for a REIT that must pay out the majority of its earnings to shareholders.
Physical occupancy of the real estate portfolio declined 60 basis points compared to the prior year period to 96.6%.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on UDR (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #2: American Homes 4 Rent (AMH)
Annual Expected Returns: 12.0%
Based in Maryland, American Homes 4 Rent is an internally managed REIT that focuses on acquiring, developing, renovating, operating and leasing single-family homes as rental properties. AMH was formed in 2013 and has a market capitalization of $14 billion.
The REIT holds nearly 58,000 single-family properties in more than 30 sub-markets of metropolitan statistical areas in 21 states.
On February 12th, 2026, AMH announced it was increasing its quarterly dividend 10.0% to $0.33 per share.
On May 6th, 2026, AMH reported first quarter results for the period ending March 31st, 2026. For the quarter, revenue grew 2.8% to $472 million, which was $1.5 million more than expected. FFO of $0.48 was up from $0.046 in the prior year and topped estimates by $0.01.
For the quarter, AMH had a same-home average occupied day percentage of 95.1%, which was down from 95.9% in Q1 2025.
New leases signed had rental rate of -0.8% while renewal rental rates increased 3.2%, leading to a blended growth rate of 2.2%. Occupied homes of 60,200 compared to 60,337 in the first quarter of 2025.
Average monthly realized rent per property was up 2.4% while property expenses declined 0.2% to $120 million.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Apartment REITs #1: UMH Properties (UMH)
Annual Expected Returns: 13.5%
UMH Properties is a REIT that is one of the largest manufactured housing landlords in the U.S. It was founded in 1968 and currently owns tens of thousands of developed sites and 135 communities located across the midwestern and northeastern U.S.
As manufactured homes are cheaper than conventional homes, UMH Properties has proved resilient to recessions.
On April 30th, UMH released its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31st. The REIT’s total income (revenue) rose by 7.5% over the year-ago period to $65.84 million in the quarter.
Same-property revenue growth was 7.6% during the quarter, which was fueled by a mix of a 5% increase in site rent, a 110-basis-point improvement in same-property occupancy to 89%, and the continued conversion of inventory into revenue-producing rental homes.
UMH’s normalized FFO per share was unchanged at $0.23 for the quarter.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on UMH Properties (UMH) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Final Thoughts
Many apartment REITs pass under the radar of the majority of investors due to their mundane business model.
However, some of these REITs have offered exceptionally high returns to their shareholders. In addition, apartment REITs have proved resilient to recessions, as the demand for housing remains strong even during rough economic periods.
The above 10 apartment REITs are interesting candidates for the portfolios of income-oriented investors, especially given the increasing risk of an upcoming recession.
If you are interested in finding high-quality dividend growth stocks and/or other high-yield securities and income securities, the following Sure Dividend resources will be useful:
High-Yield Individual Security Research
Other Sure Dividend Resources
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