Essex Announces Its 20th Consecutive Annual Dividend Increase

PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 11, 2014) - Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) announced today its Board of Directors has approved a $0.36 per share annualized increase to its regular cash dividend. The second quarter dividend distribution, payable on July 15, 2014 to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2014, will be $1.30 per share. The declared dividend represents a 7% increase over the Company's prior quarterly dividend of $1.21 per share. On an annualized basis, the dividend represents a distribution of $5.20 per common share.

The Board of Directors has also declared regular quarterly distribution for its Series H Preferred Stock for the second quarter of 2014 in the amount of $0.44531 per share. The preferred dividend is payable on July 15, 2014 to Series H preferred stockholders of record on July 1, 2014.

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 234 apartment communities with an additional 14 properties in various stages of active development. Additional information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at www.essexpropertytrust.com.