Essex Announces Its 22nd Consecutive Annual Dividend Increase

SAN MATEO, CA--(Marketwired - February 18, 2016) - Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a $0.64 per share annualized increase to its regular cash dividend. The first quarter dividend distribution, payable on April 15, 2016 to shareholders of record as of March 31, 2016, will be $1.60 per share. The declared dividend represents an 11.1% increase over the Company's prior quarterly dividend. On an annualized basis, the dividend represents a distribution of $6.40 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 2016 in the amount of $0.44531 per share. The preferred dividend is payable on April 15, 2016 to Series H preferred stockholders of record on April 1, 2016.

The Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the Garden Court Hotel, located at 520 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Shareholders of record as of February 29, 2016 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 246 apartment communities with an additional 8 properties in various stages of active development. Additional information about Essex can be found on the Company's web site at www.essex.com.