AvalonBay Communities Announces 9.4% Increase in Common Dividend And Declares Preferred Series' Dividends

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AvalonBay Communities Announces 9.4% Increase in Common Dividend And Declares Preferred Series' Dividends

    ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
(NYSE: AVB; PCX) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a $.06
increase in the Company's Common Stock dividend for the first quarter of 2002
to $.70 per share, a 9.4% increase over the current dividend of $.64 per
share.  The increased dividend is payable on April 15, 2002, to Stockholders
of Record as of April 1, 2002.
    In declaring the increased dividend, the Board of Directors evaluated the
Company's past performance and future prospects for earnings growth.  Factors
considered in determining the increase include current dividend distributions
(both common and preferred dividends), the relationship of distributions to
taxable income, expected growth in taxable income and the current Payout
Ratio.
    The Company's Payout Ratio (defined as common dividends as a percent of
FFO) for the fourth quarter of 2001 was 62.1%.  Had this dividend increase
been in effect for the fourth quarter of 2001, the pro forma Payout Ratio
would have been 68.0%.
    The Company also announced the declaration of dividends on the Company's
Series C, Series D and Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock.  The
Series C, Series D and Series H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock
dividends are $.53125 per share, $.50 per share and $.54375 per share,
respectively, and are payable on June 17, 2002 to all Series C, Series D and
Series H Stockholders of Record as of June 3, 2002.

    About AvalonBay Communities
    AvalonBay Communities, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia,
currently owns or holds an ownership interest in 141 apartment communities
containing 41,191 apartment homes in eleven states and the District of
Columbia, of which fifteen communities are under construction and three
communities are under reconstruction.  AvalonBay is in the business of
developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing luxury apartment communities
in high barrier-to-entry markets of the United States.  More information on
AvalonBay may be found on AvalonBay's Web site at http://www.avalonbay.com .

    Funds from Operations
    The Company generally considers FFO to be an appropriate measure of the
operating performance of the Company because it provides investors an
understanding of the ability of the Company to incur and service debt and to
make capital expenditures.  FFO is determined based on a definition adopted by
the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment
Trusts ("NAREIT"), which may differ from the methodology for computing FFO
used by other REITs, and, accordingly, the Company's calculation of FFO may
not be comparable to such other REITs.  FFO does not represent cash generated
from operating activities in accordance with GAAP.  Therefore it should not be
considered an alternative to net income as an indication of our performance.
FFO should also not be considered an alternative to net cash flows from
operating activities as determined by GAAP as a measure of liquidity.
Additionally, it is not necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash
needs.

SOURCE AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

http://www.avalonbay.com
CONTACT:
Thomas J. Sargeant, Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer of AvalonBay Communities, Inc.,
+1-703-317-4635