Equity Residential posts rise in quarterly revenue, sees strong demand in major cities

April 29 (Reuters) - Equity Residential EQR.N reported a year-over-year rise in first-quarter revenue on Tuesday, driven by strength in New York and Washington, D.C., as well as continued improvement in the San Francisco and Seattle markets.

The Chicago, Illinois-based real estate investment trust, which operates rental apartment properties across the United States, counts the acquisition, development and management of multifamily residential properties as its primary business and holds a market value of more than $26 billion.

"The Washington, D.C., market continues to show resilient demand despite recently announced government job cuts," the company said.

The percentage of residents renewing their leases in the first quarter remained healthy at 62%, compared to 61.1% last year, while physical occupancy increased to 96.5%.

"We expect our business to be resilient in the face of heightened economic uncertainty," said CEO Mark Parrell.

The company saw new lease growth rates decrease by 2.2% in the quarter, while renewal rates grew to 4.9% from last year.

Equity Residential reported funds from operations (FFO) of 94 cents per share in the quarter ended March 31, in line with analysts' estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects its FFO to be between $0.95 and $0.99 per share for the second quarter, the midpoint of which is marginally below analysts' average estimate of $0.99 per share.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $760.8 million, missing estimates of $767.2 million.