Property Management IndexCompare managers
Property Management Index / Managers

Vivmark Residential.
Owner-operator.

Arlington, VA and Chicago, IL (dual headquarters) · Founded 1969 · vivmarkresidential.com
Show properties in
Changes property counts, units, ratings and maps. Company facts like people, legal events and fees are firm-wide.
Investor snapshotThe questions to ask before you hireSources ↓
Can you hire them for your building?
Rarely
Mainly runs buildings it owns[9]
How big are they?
184K units
Firm's own total[11][15] · we count 4,712+ units in 556+ properties · our count
What do residents say?
4.1 on Google
4,886 reviews · 2025: 3.9 → 2026: 4.2
Legal or regulatory trouble lately?
None found since 2023
Lawsuits, settlements, fines and enforcement · details
What does management cost?
Not publicly disclosed
Ask for a fee proposal; see what others charge on their pages
Who runs DFW locally?
Dyanna Valentine, Darby Stogner +2
Regional Manager (legacy Equity Residential, Dallas-Fort Worth communities) · Director of Acquisitions · team
Growing or shrinking?
growing
From reported units and recent events[11][15]
Who owns the firm?
Public company
No parent company

Dots are a quick visual read of the facts next to them, not a grade. DFW numbers are our own count from county records, HUD and firms' own sites.

Years in business
57[9]
Employees
5,400[45][46]
Units nationally
184K[11][15]
Assets under management
About $69 billion combined enterprise value (about $52 billion equity market capitalization) at merger announcement[12]
Property typesmultifamily[10]
Specialtiesapartment developmentmixed-income communities[15][11]
MarketsBostonNew York/New JerseyMid-Atlantic (Washington, DC)SeattleNorthern CaliforniaSouthern CaliforniaRaleigh-DurhamCharlotte · since 2021Southeast FloridaDallas-Fort Worth · since 2021AustinDenverAtlanta[10][14][37][16][36]
01Overview

Vivmark Residential is a publicly traded apartment REIT formed on August 17, 2026, when AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential completed a merger of equals. It trades on the NYSE as VMRK and is an S&P 500 member. The company has dual headquarters in Arlington, Virginia (AvalonBay's former base) and Chicago (Equity Residential's). Legally, Equity Residential was the surviving entity and was renamed. Its roots go back to a firm Sam Zell founded in 1969.

02What sets them apart

Against the industry average.

How Vivmark Residential compares with the other large DFW managers on each measure we track.

  • ▲Better than 97% of peers on industry awards, 3 years (5 vs 3 average)
other firms average this firm, by rank: top third middle bottomThis firmRank
DFW unitsneither better nor worse4,712avg 6,306#16 of 30
Class A shareneither better nor worse80%avg 51%#7 of 30
Google rating↑ higher is betterworsebetter4.1avg 3.9#5 of 30
Rating change, last year↑ higher is betterworsebetter+0.30avg +0.11#6 of 30
Occupancy↑ higher is betterworsebetter95.7%avg 93.4%#2 of 8
Legal events, 3 years↓ lower is betterbetterworse0avg 2#1 of 30
Industry awards, 3 years↑ higher is betterworsebetter5avg 3#2 of 30

Compared with the 30 largest DFW managers. Rank 1 is the best where higher or lower is better, else the largest. DFW units use a log scale.

03Portfolio

What they run. In 22 metro areas.

Size, building class, age and location of the properties we can tie to this firm. Compare with the kind of asset you own.

Properties
556+
found so farpartial
Units
4,712+
plus 541 properties with no unit count yetpartial
Building area, sq ft
5.4M
county recordspartial
Median year built
2018
county recordspartial
Different owners
15
owners across the 15 of 556 properties with a county owner recordpartial

Building class (public record class rating, 5 of 556 properties rated)partial

A · 4B · 1
Class AClass BClass CNot ratedSize = units

Units by ZIP code

75287706 · 2 prop.
75033679 · 3 prop.
75034615 · 2 prop.
75007500 · 1 prop.
75251387 · 1 prop.
75006311 · 1 prop.
75035289 · 1 prop.
75025250 · 1 prop.

Units by decade built

1990s568
2000s466
2010s2,367
2020s1,311

Largest properties

PropertyAddressUnitsBuiltClassCheck it
AVALON WEST PLANO4216 SLOANE ST, 750075002016County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
CREST AT PARK CENTRAL7929 CHURCHILL WAY, 752513872014ACounty recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
EAVES NORTH DALLAS4141 HORIZON NORTH PKWY, 752873721995County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
REMY APARTMENTS5775 BLAIRVIEW ST, 750343572022County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
AVALON FRISCO NORTH/VALE FRISCO12050 RESEARCH RD, 750333492019County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
LYLE APARTMENTS17727 ADDISON RD, 752873342022County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
WESTERLY411 W COMMERCE ST3312020ACounty recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite
AVALON FRISCO11900 RESEARCH RD, 750333302018County recordGoogleFirm siteWebsite

Our count from public property records, HUD and the firm's own site; a listing alone never counts.

Vivmark owns, develops and operates its own apartment communities. It does not manage for outside owners. The portfolio is concentrated in coastal markets: Boston, New York/New Jersey, the Washington DC area, Seattle and California. It also has a smaller presence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Denver, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte and Southeast Florida. In Dallas-Fort Worth it holds communities from both legacy firms. Examples: Eaves and Avalon properties from AvalonBay, plus urban and suburban assets such as Westerly, Indie Deep Ellum and Kia Ora Park from Equity Residential. In 2025 AvalonBay bought a suburban DFW portfolio from BSR REIT.

04Resident experience

How residents rate their buildings.

Resident ratings drive leasing and renewals. Look at the trend and at which problems are rising, not only the average.

Average Google rating
4.1
weighted by review count
Google reviews
4,886
across 16 properties

Properties by Google rating

4.5+3
4-4.58
3.5-44
3-3.51
under 30

Resident reviews over time

Our read of public resident feedback on 16 of its DFW properties, 2016-11 to 2026-09. Years with little feedback are left out, and earlier years rest on fewer properties. No resident comments are shown.

123452019: average rating 5, sentiment +1 (from -1 to +1)20192020: average rating 4.6, sentiment +0.81 (from -1 to +1)20202021: average rating 4.6, sentiment +0.78 (from -1 to +1)20212022: average rating 3.9, sentiment +0.44 (from -1 to +1)20222023: average rating 4.1, sentiment +0.5 (from -1 to +1)20232024: average rating 4.2, sentiment +0.58 (from -1 to +1)20242025: average rating 3.9, sentiment +0.43 (from -1 to +1)20252026: average rating 4.2, sentiment +0.59 (from -1 to +1)2026

━ average rating · ╌ sentiment · higher is better for both

What residents complain about lower is better

How often residents raise each problem, our assessment: before the last 12 months and in the last 12 months. Fewer is better. Shown only when enough residents raise it.

ProblemBeforeLast 12 monthsChange
Poor communication12%13%↑ 1 pts morecould be chance
Maintenance delays7%9%↑ 2 pts morecould be chance
Rude staff7%5%↓ 2 pts fewercould be chance

Other review sites, our read

BBBMixed

Legacy Equity Residential profile, accredited, about 235 closed complaints in 3 years on billing and upkeep, low for its size[5][6]

Our assessment · Sep 2026View profile ↗
ApartmentRatingsNot checked

Site blocked fetching; Equity and AvalonBay management pages exist but no DFW property page could be found or opened

Our assessment · Sep 2026
YelpToo few reviews

No company page; largest DFW properties Remy (Frisco) and Avalon West Plano hold about 34 reviews combined[7][8]

Our assessment · Sep 2026View profile ↗

Our assessment of each site's record, not the site's own score, which we don't reproduce. Follow the link for the profile.

Both predecessor firms had public employer recognition. AvalonBay was named a USA Today Top Workplace for 2025. Equity Residential was named one of Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies for a sixth straight year in 2025 and was listed in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook and Dow Jones sustainability indices.

No employee review profile under the Vivmark name was found yet. Our assessment of employee reviews for the legacy AvalonBay business is Mixed, based on its public Glassdoor profile. Both predecessor firms have faced criticism from tenant advocates over fees and pricing practices (see Risk and compliance).

05Risk and compliance

Lawsuits, settlements and regulators.

Newest first. These are what public records and news show; allegations are reported as allegations.

≈Matched by nameA record can concern an owner, an affiliate or a similar name. We label it when the source shows that.
§Unproven until decidedA lawsuit or complaint is an allegation unless a court or regulator decided it.
↗Check the sourceEach item links to the record it comes from. Read it before relying on it.
  • 2026-06 · antitrust scrutinyAbout an owner entityCritics argued the merger would create high market concentration in several local submarkets; the deal did not require mandatory federal antitrust review.[22]
  • 2026-04 · antitrustAbout an owner entityEquity Residential agreed to pay $56 million to settle a federal class action alleging it joined a RealPage rent-pricing conspiracy, while denying wrongdoing.[17]
  • 2025-12 · class actionAbout an owner entityEquity Residential agreed to an approximately $43 million class settlement over a California late fee a federal court had ruled void, covering tenants charged from 2010 to April 2024.[18]
  • 2024-05 · antitrustAbout an owner entityAvalonBay was dismissed from the DC Attorney General's RealPage rent-pricing antitrust suit after the court found its contracts barred sharing private pricing data.[21]
  • 2022-05 · consumer protectionAbout an owner entityA DC court found Equity Residential's leasing practices at a rent-controlled building violated the District's consumer protection law, and the company was ordered to pay nearly $2 million in a case brought by the DC Attorney General.[19][20]
Our summary

The legacy firms carry several legal matters:

  1. In 2022, a DC court ruled against Equity Residential in a case the DC Attorney General brought over leasing practices at a rent-controlled building. The company was ordered to pay nearly $2 million.
  2. In late 2025, Equity Residential agreed to a class settlement of about $43 million with California tenants. A federal court had ruled its late fee void.
  3. In April 2026, Equity Residential agreed to pay $56 million to settle a federal class action. The suit alleged the company joined a RealPage rent-pricing conspiracy. Equity Residential denied wrongdoing.
  4. In 2024, AvalonBay was dismissed from the DC Attorney General's RealPage suit.

Critics have argued the merger concentrates ownership in some local submarkets. The deal did not require mandatory federal antitrust review.

06Key personnel

Key personnel.

For an owner, the regional leaders in its own metro matter most, so leaders in DFW are listed first.

DV
Dyanna ValentineDFWLinkedIn
Regional Manager (legacy Equity Residential, Dallas-Fort Worth communities)[62][63]
Regional · Dallas-Fort Worth · joined 2024 (2 yrs)
Before: Equity ResidentialEquity ResidentialEquity ResidentialRiverstone Residential Group[62]
BF
Brian FritzDFWLinkedIn
Regional Senior Vice President, Development, Pacific Northwest, Colorado and Texas (legacy AvalonBay)[71][72]
Regional · Pacific Northwest, Colorado and Texas · joined 2013 (13 yrs)
Before: JPI CompaniesAvalonBay CommunitiesTrammell Crow ResidentialJPI Companies[71][72]
JW
Jennifer WiebrandDFWLinkedIn
Senior Vice President of Development, Texas (legacy AvalonBay); responsible for finding new development opportunities in Austin and Dallas[69][70]
Business development · Texas (Dallas and Austin) · joined 2023 (3 yrs)
Before: Gables Residential[74]
DS
Darby StognerDFWLinkedIn
Director of Acquisitions[64]
Leadership · Dallas
Before: Mill Creek Residential[64]
Benjamin Schall
Benjamin SchallLinkedIn
President and Chief Executive Officer[14]
CEO · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesSeritage Growth PropertiesRouse PropertiesVornado Realty Trust[14][31]
Michael Manelis
Michael ManelisLinkedIn
Chief Operating Officer[15][11]
COO · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: Equity ResidentialEquity ResidentialEquity ResidentialEquity Residential[33][30]
Kevin O'Shea
Kevin O'SheaLinkedIn
Chief Financial Officer[15][11]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesAvalonBay Communities[32][30]
SS
Stephen SterrettLinkedIn
Chairman of the Board of Trustees[15][14]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: Equity ResidentialEquity ResidentialSimon Property GroupPrice Waterhouse[14][33]
Matthew Birenbaum
Matthew BirenbaumLinkedIn
Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer[30]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesAvalonBay CommunitiesAbbey Road Property GroupEYA (Eakin/Youngentob Associates)[30][54]
Sean Breslin
Sean BreslinLinkedIn
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment and Growth Officer[30]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay Communities[30]
Pamela Thomas
Pamela Thomas
Executive Vice President, Portfolio and Asset Management[30]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesCPP InvestmentsJ.P. Morgan Asset ManagementRREEF / Deutsche Bank[30][56]
Alaine Walsh
Alaine WalshLinkedIn
Executive Vice President, Human Capital and Administration[30]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesAvalonBay CommunitiesAvalonBay CommunitiesKPMG[30][55]
Scott Fenster
Scott FensterLinkedIn
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary[30]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: Equity ResidentialEquity ResidentialEquity Residential[30][57]
Edward Schulman
Edward SchulmanLinkedIn
Executive Vice President, Legal Affairs[43]
Leadership · joined 2026 (0 yrs)
Before: AvalonBay CommunitiesGoodwin Procter LLP[44]
BS
Benjamin StollLinkedIn
Senior Vice President, Head of Transactions and Development (legacy Equity Residential)[65][66]
Leadership
Before: Equity ResidentialUnion Realty PartnersEquity Residential[66][67][65]

Average leadership tenure: 1 years. Highlighted past employers have their own page here. LinkedIn profiles are linked, not copied.

What employees say, our read

GlassdoorMixed

No Vivmark page yet; legacy Equity Residential and AvalonBay pages hold about 2,260 reviews, one favourable, one middling on leadership[1][2]

Our assessment · Sep 2026View profile ↗
IndeedMixed

No Vivmark page yet; legacy Equity Residential and AvalonBay pages hold about 900 reviews, with management the weakest topic[3][4]

Our assessment · Sep 2026View profile ↗
About the leadership

Benjamin Schall is president and CEO. He was previously AvalonBay's president and CEO. Before joining AvalonBay in 2021, he ran Seritage Growth Properties and held senior roles at Rouse Properties and Vornado Realty Trust. Michael Manelis is chief operating officer and runs day-to-day property operations. He joined Equity Residential in 1999 and was its COO from 2018. Kevin O'Shea is chief financial officer. He joined AvalonBay in 2003 and was its CFO from 2014.

The rest of the executive team comes from both legacy firms. Matthew Birenbaum leads development. He was AvalonBay's chief investment officer from 2015 and earlier founded Abbey Road Property Group, a multifamily developer. Sean Breslin leads investments and growth. Pamela Thomas leads portfolio and asset management. She joined AvalonBay in 2024 from CPP Investments, where she headed US real estate investment, after earlier multifamily roles at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and RREEF. Alaine Walsh leads human capital and administration. She joined AvalonBay's finance group in 1998 after working at KPMG. Scott Fenster is general counsel. He joined Equity Residential's legal department in 2003 and was its general counsel from 2018. Edward Schulman, AvalonBay's general counsel since 1999 and a former Goodwin Procter partner, is executive vice president for legal affairs.

Stephen Sterrett chairs a board drawn equally from both companies. He is a former CFO of Simon Property Group and was Equity Residential's lead independent trustee. Mark Parrell, Equity Residential's CEO, stepped down at the merger.

The company publishes no Dallas-Fort Worth or Texas regional leadership. Public professional profiles show a Dallas-based regional manager overseeing legacy Equity Residential communities in the area, including Westerly and Indie Deep Ellum. She has spent her career in Equity Residential's on-site operations, moving from California to Dallas-Fort Worth in 2022 and becoming regional manager in 2024. A Dallas-based director of acquisitions previously worked in acquisitions at Mill Creek Residential. These titles are self-reported and may change as the merged company reorganizes. Benjamin Stoll, who led Equity Residential's development and transactions nationally, headed its 2022 joint venture with Toll Brothers that built Remy and Lyle in Dallas-Fort Worth. He first worked at Equity Residential in property management and analysis, spent time in real estate private equity, and later returned.

On the development side, Jennifer Wiebrand joined AvalonBay in 2023 as senior vice president of development for Texas, charged with finding new development opportunities in Austin and Dallas. She came from Gables Residential, where she worked on investments and development in Austin. Her profile shows she reports to Brian Fritz, a Bellevue, Washington based regional senior vice president who has led legacy AvalonBay development in the Pacific Northwest, Colorado and Texas since 2013, after earlier development roles at Trammell Crow Residential and JPI. Neither role has yet been confirmed under the Vivmark name. As an owner-operator that does not manage for outside owners, the company lists no business development contacts for third-party management. Its outside-facing deal contacts are the development and acquisitions staff who look for land and buildings to buy.

07Performance and fees

What they report, and what they charge.

Private managers rarely publish results. Figures the firm reports about itself are marked "firm claim"; ask for audited numbers before you sign.

Occupancyfirm claim
95.7%
Physical occupancy
95.7% physical occupancy across the combined portfolio as of September 11, 2026 (legacy Equity Residential same store: 96.4% for 2025, 96.2% in Q2 2026)[26][25][24]
as of 2026-09-11
Rent growthfirm claim
3.6%
Annual asking rent growth
Net effective asking rents up 3.6% year over year as of September 11, 2026; legacy Equity Residential Q2 2026 blended rate 2.8% (renewals +5.2%, new leases -0.7%)[26][24]
as of 2026-09-11
NOIfirm claim
1.4%
Same store NOI growth
Legacy Equity Residential same store NOI up 1.4% in Q2 2026 year over year and up 2.2% for full-year 2025[24][25]
as of 2026-06-30
Expense controlfirm claim
3.0%
Same store expense growth
Legacy Equity Residential same store expenses up 3.0% in Q2 2026 year over year and up 3.7% for full-year 2025[24][25]
as of 2026-06-30
Collectionsfirm claim
1.0%
Bad debt revenue share
Legacy Equity Residential bad debt about 1.0% of same store residential revenue in 2025; lower bad debt added 0.2% to same store residential revenue in Q2 2026[25][24]
as of 2026-06-30
Retention and renewalsfirm claim
60%
Resident renewal rate
About 60% of residents renewing across both legacy portfolios (September 2026); legacy Equity Residential turnover 40.2% in 2025, which it called its highest full-year retention on record[26][27][25]
as of 2026-09-16
CapExfirm claim
$3,777
Capital spending per apartment
Legacy Equity Residential same store capital spending about $3,777 per apartment in 2025 ($2,298 recurring, $1,479 NOI-enhancing), including renovations of 2,732 same store units at about $30,000 each; 2026 plan about $90 million to renovate about 2,900 units at about $31,000 each. Legacy AvalonBay same store capitalized spending in 2025 was $1,228 per home NOI-enhancing and $2,116 per home asset preservation, plus $3,182 per home of expensed maintenance.[41][42]
as of 2025-12-31

No current figure: Turn times. Ask the firm for these before you sign.

Fees paid by owners

Not publicly disclosed. Management fees are usually quoted in a proposal.

Fees charged to residents (1)
Late fee (California, 2010 to April 2024)5% of monthly rent, $50 minimum[18]
Case studies (3)
  • Portfolio-wide CRM rollout (legacy Equity Residential). Equity Residential rolled out the Anyone Home CRM across its whole portfolio in about four months starting in March 2021, to track leads and measure leasing team follow-up. The vendor reports most on-site staff found it easy to use and that follow-up metrics improved after launch. Vendor-published case study.[47]
  • AI leasing assistants and centralized operations (both legacy firms). Both legacy firms are named as clients of EliseAI, an AI leasing and resident-communication vendor. Bisnow reported that Equity Residential told investors its headcount fell 20% between 2020 and 2025 as it integrated AI.[48][49]
  • Cloud leasing and property search platform (legacy AvalonBay). AvalonBay built an event-driven, serverless leasing and property search platform on AWS that passes data to its property management and finance systems. Published on the AWS Architecture Blog.[29]
Our notes on performance and fees

As a public REIT, the company reports its operating results. Just after the merger, it reported high occupancy across the combined portfolio, asking rents rising year over year, and about six in ten residents renewing their leases. These are company figures, not independent measures.

The last full reports before the merger came from Equity Residential. They showed high occupancy, modest same store revenue and NOI growth in 2025 and the first half of 2026, and expenses rising faster than revenue. Bad debt was low and improving. Equity Residential said 2025 had its best full-year resident retention on record. The company says merger cost savings and new developments should lift results in 2027.

Both legacy firms disclosed their per-apartment capital spending for 2025. Most went to routine replacements that keep buildings in shape, and the rest to upgrades meant to raise rents, mainly kitchen and bath renovations of individual apartments. Equity Residential planned to keep renovating units at a similar pace in 2026. No public figures on turn times were found.

Equity Residential used to charge California tenants a late fee of 5% of monthly rent with a $50 minimum. A federal court ruled that fee void, and the company stopped charging it by May 2024. No other published fee schedules were found.

08Awards

Awards and recognition.

Industry rankings and awards, newest first. Many are based on surveys the firm enters or pays for, so weigh them below results and resident ratings.

2025USA Today Top Workplaces (legacy AvalonBay)[34]
2025Newsweek America's Most Responsible Companies, sixth consecutive year (legacy Equity Residential)[35]
2025S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook (legacy Equity Residential)[35]
2025Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indices (legacy Equity Residential)[35]
2024Nareit Residential Sector Leader in the Light (legacy Equity Residential)[35]
09Technology

Software and systems.

Matters for reporting to you, integration with your systems, and how leasing and rents are set.

Property management software
MRI Software property management (legacy AvalonBay: residential and commercial management, financials and accounting, affordable housing modules; upgraded to MRI Version X; piloted MRI 5.0 in 2008 over Yardi and RealPage)[75][76]
CRM and leasing
Anyone Home CRM (legacy Equity Residential, portfolio-wide from 2021)[47]
Revenue management
Proprietary revenue management systems of both legacy firms, being combined (company statement)LRO (legacy Equity Residential rolled it out portfolio-wide by 2008; AvalonBay was among its pilot users)[27][28]
Resident portal
AvalonAccess (legacy AvalonBay communities)[23]
BI and reporting
Tableau and Power BI (named for data visualization in a Vivmark corporate analytics job posting)[58]
AI and automation
AI, automation and centralized services (stated plan)[12][11]
API and integrations
Event-driven, serverless leasing and property search platform on AWS feeding property management and finance systems (legacy AvalonBay)[29]
Our notes on technology

Legacy AvalonBay communities run on MRI Software for property management and property-level accounting. AvalonBay chose MRI in 2008 after also weighing Yardi and RealPage, and extended the agreement in 2016, when it also used MRI's commercial, affordable housing and tenant portal modules. It connected its CRM, revenue management, screening and call center tools to MRI through MRI's integration programs. These are vendor statements from 2016 and earlier, so the setup may have changed. No public source was found naming the property management system at legacy Equity Residential communities, or which system the combined company will use.

Residents of legacy AvalonBay communities use the AvalonAccess portal to pay rent, get package notices and book amenities. AvalonBay also built its own leasing and property search platform on Amazon Web Services, which feeds its property management and finance systems.

For leads and leasing, Equity Residential moved its whole portfolio onto the Anyone Home CRM in 2021. Both legacy firms are named as clients of EliseAI, which automates leasing and resident messages. Equity Residential has told investors that AI integration helped reduce its headcount between 2020 and 2025. The company says it is rolling out more AI tools for service requests and investing in automation and centralized services.

For pricing, the company says it is combining the in-house revenue management systems of both legacy firms. In the late 2000s, Equity Residential rolled out the LRO pricing software across its portfolio, and AvalonBay was among its pilot users.

For reporting, a September 2026 Vivmark job posting for its Chicago strategy and analytics team names Tableau and Power BI as its data visualization tools.

10Growth

Momentum, year by year.

Growing firms win new contracts but can stretch staff; shrinking ones may be losing clients.

Signal: growing[11][15]

Growth events[11]
2021202220232024202520262027184k2026: 184,000 units reported by the firmEVENTS2025-02 · acquisition: AvalonBay agreed to buy eight Texas communities from BSR REIT, six of them in Dallas-Fort Worth, doubling its Texas expansion-region portfolio.2026-05 · merger announced: AvalonBay and Equity Residential announced a merger of equals targeting $125 million in net synergies.2026-07 · rebrand: The companies announced Vivmark Residential as the name of the combined firm.2026-08 · merger: The merger closed, creating the largest apartment owner in the U.S. by units.2021 · market entry: AvalonBay entered the Dallas and Charlotte metros through acquisitions, and Equity Residential expanded into Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Atlanta and Denver, putting most of its 2021 acquisition spending into these expansion markets.2026-06 · leadership: The two companies named the combined executive team, drawn from both legacy firms.

Hover a point or an orange event dot for details. Unit counts are what the firm reported nationally.

Recent events

  • 2026-08 · mergerThe merger closed, creating the largest apartment owner in the U.S. by units.[10][15]
  • 2026-07 · rebrandThe companies announced Vivmark Residential as the name of the combined firm.[13]
  • 2026-06 · leadershipThe two companies named the combined executive team, drawn from both legacy firms.[30]
  • 2026-05 · merger announcedAvalonBay and Equity Residential announced a merger of equals targeting $125 million in net synergies.[12]
  • 2025-02 · acquisitionAvalonBay agreed to buy eight Texas communities from BSR REIT, six of them in Dallas-Fort Worth, doubling its Texas expansion-region portfolio.[16]
  • 2021 · market entryAvalonBay entered the Dallas and Charlotte metros through acquisitions, and Equity Residential expanded into Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Atlanta and Denver, putting most of its 2021 acquisition spending into these expansion markets.[37][36]

Both legacy firms entered Dallas-Fort Worth in 2021. AvalonBay bought its first communities in Dallas and Charlotte that year. Equity Residential put most of its 2021 acquisition spending into Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Atlanta and Denver. In 2025, AvalonBay added a suburban portfolio in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin.

The merger was announced in May 2026. The combined leadership team was named in June, the Vivmark name in July, and the deal closed in August. The company has a substantial development pipeline under construction. Management says about nine in ten of its homes are in coastal markets, and that new development will lean toward the West Coast.

11Ownership

Who owns the firm, and why it matters.

A manager that also owns buildings, or answers to a fund, can have different priorities from yours.

OwnershipPublic company[10][15]
Parent companyNone
Business modelMainly runs buildings it owns[9]
Affordable housing7,200 affordable homes; about one-third of communities include affordable or mixed-income components[15]
Employee growthPost-merger organizational redesign completed; combined leadership positions finalized within 30 to 60 days of the August 2026 closing[27]

Not publicly disclosed: Sister companies

Ownership changes

  • 2026-08 · mergerThe merger closed and the combined company was renamed Vivmark Residential, trading on the NYSE as VMRK from August 18, 2026.[10][14]
  • 2026-05 · merger announcedAvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential announced an all-stock merger of equals, with AvalonBay shareholders receiving 2.793 Equity Residential shares per share.[12]

Vivmark is a public company owned by its shareholders. At closing, former AvalonBay holders owned about 51% and former Equity Residential holders about 49%. It is an owner-operator: the staff at its buildings are its own employees, not a hired manager. The company says it has a large development pipeline and includes affordable or mixed-income homes in part of its portfolio.

12Sources

Where every fact comes from.

Each [n] above links here. Property numbers, ratings and the map come from our database; each property links to its county record, its own website and its Google page.

Show all 76 sources
  1. Equity Residential Reviews | Glassdoor glassdoor.com · seen 2026-09-29
  2. AvalonBay Communities Reviews | Glassdoor glassdoor.com · seen 2026-09-29
  3. Working at Equity Residential | Indeed.com indeed.com · seen 2026-09-29
  4. Working at AvalonBay Communities: Reviews about Management | Indeed.com indeed.com · seen 2026-09-29
  5. Equity Residential | BBB Business Profile bbb.org · seen 2026-09-29
  6. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | BBB Business Profile bbb.org · seen 2026-09-29
  7. Remy Apartments, Frisco TX | Yelp yelp.com · seen 2026-09-29
  8. Avalon West Plano, Carrollton TX | Yelp yelp.com · seen 2026-09-29
  9. Vivmark Residential - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org · seen 2026-09-28
  10. Equity Residential Form 8-K Ex. 99.1: merger completion, August 2026 sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  11. Vivmark Residential Launches as One of the Country's Leading Real Estate Companies (SEC Ex. 99.1) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  12. AvalonBay and Equity Residential Announce Merger of Equals investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  13. Equity Residential, AvalonBay announce name of combined firm: Vivmark Residential | Multifamily Dive multifamilydive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  14. AvalonBay, Equity Residential complete their merger | Multifamily Dive multifamilydive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  15. Vivmark Residential Launches as Largest Apartment Owner in the U.S. | Multifamily Executive multifamilyexecutive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  16. AvalonBay planned acquisition of eight apartment communities in Texas investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  17. REIT's $56M Deal Extends RealPage Settlement Wave | Bisnow bisnow.com · seen 2026-09-28
  18. DHKL Reaches a $43 Million Settlement with Equity Residential (late fee case) dhkl.law · seen 2026-09-28
  19. AG Racine Secures Nearly $2 Million For Victims of Rent Hike Scam oag.dc.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  20. Equity Residential to pay $2M in Washington, D.C., 'rent hike scam' case | Multifamily Dive multifamilydive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  21. AvalonBay released from Washington, D.C., RealPage litigation | Multifamily Dive multifamilydive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  22. Real Estate Merger Poised to Create Several Local Apartment Monopolies | The American Prospect prospect.org · seen 2026-09-28
  23. Digital Resident Services - AvalonAccess | AvalonBay Communities avaloncommunities.com · seen 2026-09-28
  24. Equity Residential Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results (SEC Form 8-K Ex. 99.1) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  25. Equity Residential Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Results investors.equityapartments.com · seen 2026-09-28
  26. Vivmark Residential publishes updated investor presentation and operating update (Sep 15, 2026) stocktitan.net · seen 2026-09-28
  27. Vivmark Residential at BofA NY Global Real Estate Conference 2026 (transcript summary) investing.com · seen 2026-09-28
  28. Raise the Roof (revenue management) | Multifamily Executive, May 2008 multifamilyexecutive.com · seen 2026-09-28
  29. Building an event-driven solution for AvalonBay property leasing and search | AWS Architecture Blog aws.amazon.com · seen 2026-09-28
  30. AvalonBay Communities and Equity Residential Announce Leadership Team for Combined Company investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  31. AvalonBay Appoints Benjamin Schall President and Announces CEO Succession Plan investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  32. AvalonBay Announces Retirement of CFO Thomas Sargeant and Appointment of Kevin O'Shea as Successor investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  33. Equity Residential 2025 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  34. AvalonBay Communities Named a USA Today Top Workplace 2025 Winner investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  35. Equity Residential Issues 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report investors.equityapartments.com · seen 2026-09-28
  36. Equity Residential Fourth Quarter 2021 Results (SEC Form 8-K Ex. 99.1) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  37. AvalonBay Fourth Quarter 2021 Results (SEC Form 8-K Ex. 99.1) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  38. Working at AvalonBay Communities | Glassdoor (legacy company profile) glassdoor.com · seen 2026-09-28
  39. Michael Manelis - Chief Operating Officer at Vivmark | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  40. Kevin O'Shea - CFO, AvalonBay Communities | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  41. Equity Residential Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Supplemental (SEC Form 8-K Ex. 99.1), Residential Capital Expenditures to Real Estate sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  42. AvalonBay Fourth Quarter 2025 Earnings Release Attachments (SEC Form 8-K Ex. 99.2), Attachment 8: Expensed Community Maintenance Costs and Capitalized Community Expenditures sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  43. Leadership | Vivmark Residential vivmarkresidential.com · seen 2026-09-28
  44. Edward M. Schulman | AvalonBay Communities leadership (legacy site) avaloncommunities.com · seen 2026-09-28
  45. Equity Residential Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (Human Capital) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  46. AvalonBay Communities Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025 (Human Capital) sec.gov · seen 2026-09-28
  47. Anyone Home CRM Engagement Platform Delivers Centralized Lead Management Process for Equity Residential (case study) anyonehome.com · seen 2026-09-28
  48. The AI Playbook Telling Landlords How To Cut Jobs And Manage The Message | Bisnow bisnow.com · seen 2026-09-28
  49. Building the Future of Housing and Healthcare with AI: Why We're All-In on EliseAI | Sapphire Ventures sapphireventures.com · seen 2026-09-28
  50. Benjamin Schall | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  51. Matt Birenbaum | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  52. Alaine Walsh | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  53. Scott Fenster | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-28
  54. Matthew H. Birenbaum | AvalonBay Communities leadership (legacy site) avaloncommunities.com · seen 2026-09-28
  55. Alaine S. Walsh | AvalonBay Communities leadership (legacy site) avaloncommunities.com · seen 2026-09-28
  56. AvalonBay Communities Announces New Executive Vice President for Portfolio and Asset Management investors.avalonbay.com · seen 2026-09-28
  57. Scott J. Fenster | Equity Residential Officers and Trustees investors.equityapartments.com · seen 2026-09-28
  58. Strategy & Analytics Manager, Chicago (Vivmark Residential job posting, posted 2026-09-11) hcjm.fa.us2.oraclecloud.com · seen 2026-09-29
  59. Sean Breslin - AvalonBay Communities | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  60. Edward Schulman - Executive Vice President-General Counsel and Secretary at AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  61. Stephen Sterrett - Retired CFO at Simon Property Group | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  62. Dyanna Valentine - Regional Manager at Equity Residential | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  63. Dyanna Valentine LinkedIn post tagging Equity Residential, Indie Deep Ellum and Westerly linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  64. Darby Stogner - Director of Acquisitions at Vivmark | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  65. Ben Stoll - Equity Residential | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-29
  66. Toll Brothers Apartment Living and Equity Residential Celebrate the Groundbreaking of Three New Luxury Rental Communities in North Texas (GlobeNewswire, Nov 2022) globenewswire.com · seen 2026-09-29
  67. Toll Brothers Apartment Living and Equity Residential to Develop Three Luxury Rental Communities Totaling Over 1,000 Units in Dallas-Fort Worth Area investors.tollbrothers.com · seen 2026-09-29
  68. Google reviews of the firm's DFW properties (our analysis) google.com · seen 2026-09-30
  69. Names to Note: May 2023 | Nareit reit.com · seen 2026-09-30
  70. Drinks with Developers (SMPS Austin event, May 16, 2024), speaker bio of Jennifer Wiebrand smpsaustin.starchapter.com · seen 2026-09-30
  71. Brian E. Fritz - Regional Senior Vice President - Development, PNW, Colorado, and Texas at AvalonBay Communities | The Org theorg.com · seen 2026-09-30
  72. Brian Fritz - Regional Senior Vice President - Development, PNW, Colorado, and Texas - AvalonBay Communities | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-09-30
  73. Jennifer Wiebrand - AvalonBay Communities | LinkedIn linkedin.com · seen 2026-10-01
  74. Inaugural Austin Women Leading Real Estate Event Agenda | Bisnow (speaker bio of Jennifer Wiebrand, Gables Residential) bisnow.com · seen 2026-10-01
  75. AvalonBay Communities Extends Agreement with MRI Software for Multifamily Real Estate Property Management | MRI Software (Sep 29, 2016) mrisoftware.com · seen 2026-10-01
  76. Deeper Integration | Multifamily Executive, May 2008 multifamilyexecutive.com · seen 2026-10-01