| 
One of Greater Boston’s largest apartment landlords is projecting larger rent increases for the rest of the year in its 6,346-unit local portfolio.
Equity Residential said average same-store rents rose 3.3 percent to $3,112 over the past 12 months in its Greater Boston portfolio, which comprises 24 properties. The Chicago-based REIT raised its full-year revenue growth guidance for the local market from 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent.
Executives attributed the rent increases to a temporary lull in competing new developments hitting the market. The Greater Boston portfolio was 96.5 percent occupied at the end of the second quarter.
The average household income of residents in Equity Residential’s nationwide portfolio is $155,000 a year, CEO Mark Parrell said.
“They’re paying us $2,800 a month in rent which means they’re giving us about 19 percent of their income in rent. So our customer, just specifically the Equity customer, is not terribly distressed,” Parrell said this week in a conference call to discuss the company’s second-quarter financials.
Equity Residential owns 309 properties nationwide totaling nearly 80,000 units, with a concentration in coastal metros.
Equity Residential is developing two apartment towers locally. The 470-unit Alcott, formerly known as the Garden Garage tower, is scheduled for completion in late 2021 on Lomasney Way in Boston’s West End. The 84-unit Lofts at Kendall Square II, at 249 Third St. in Cambridge, will open this fall and is listing rents starting at $2,995 for studios.
