> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bullished.co/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Essex CEO On New-Lease Rents: 'We Can Actually Fabricate' Strong Numbers - URL: https://www.bullished.co/essex-ceo-on-new-lease-rents-we-can-actually-fabricate-strong-numbers-6bd0a339/ - Published: 2026-10-28T17:42:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T17:42:00.000Z - Description: Angela Kleiman says an empty apartment costs 2% a week, so Essex steers by blended rents rather than the new-lease figure. - Author: Matteo Parrino - Tags: Earnings, ESS, Industry: Real Estate [Essex Property Trust](https://www.bullished.co/tag/ess/) will not chase new-lease rent growth, CEO Angela Kleiman told analysts on the company's third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, because the metric is easy to inflate by letting occupancy or renewals slip. ## Why the metric gets no priority Asked by an Evercore ISI analyst how new-lease growth could accelerate in 2027, Kleiman said blended rents, which combine new leases and renewals, are what reach the bottom line. "We can actually fabricate or even generate a fantastic new lease rate growth," she said, by pulling back on occupancy or renewals, which would not maximize revenue. She added that a unit left vacant for one week "costs you 2%." Kleiman said that is not a sign market fundamentals are weak. She pointed to the sequential trend as improvement. Companywide, new-lease growth fell about 40 basis points sequentially last year and is "only down 120 basis points" this year, figures she gave for the same comparison that point in opposite directions. For Seattle, she said, new-lease rates fell by over 700 basis points sequentially last year and about 120 this year. Essex, a real estate investment trust that owns apartment communities mostly on the West Coast, [raised its full-year guidance](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/920522/000114036126040903/ef20084268%5Fex99-1.htm?ref=bullished.co) again, with Kleiman crediting Northern California for the outperformance. ## Northern California bucks the season Northern California new-lease rates rose 20 basis points from the second to third quarter, Kleiman said, against the usual seasonal slowdown. October new-lease growth there is "well north of 10%," while other markets start the month in negative territory, which she called normal for October. Blended rent growth in the region was 7.3% in the third quarter. Renewals there face California's AB 1482 cap, which Kleiman described as inflation plus 5%, at most 10%. New leases are uncapped, but she said capturing market rents on them takes time because tenants may simply stay put under the cap. She said the earn-in, the rent growth already locked in entering the year, was originally published at about 150 basis points a month ago, and Essex now assumes an additional 5 to 10\. Last year's was about 85. ## Occupancy before the seasonal low A KeyBanc analyst asked why fourth-quarter renewals are going out in the mid-4% range after 5.3% in the third quarter. Kleiman said Essex typically favors occupancy heading into the seasonal slowdown, except in pockets of Northern California where it can keep favoring rents. Occupancy stood at 96.3%, she said. By market, she said Northern California renewals run in the 8% range near the cap, Southern California around 2% to 3% and Seattle 3% to 4%. Kleiman said October rent trends were generally in line with plan, with the company now at its seasonal low. ### Sources - [ESS Q3 FFO & Revenues Miss Estimates Amid Rising Property Expenses](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/ess-q3-ffo-revenues-miss-142700121.html?.tsrc=rss&ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance - [https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/920522/000114036126040903/ef20084268\_ex99-1.htm](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/920522/000114036126040903/ef20084268%5Fex99-1.htm?ref=bullished.co) — sec.gov - [Essex Property Trust (ESS) Q3 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/essex-property-trust-ess-q3-233002757.html?.tsrc=rss&ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance - [Essex Property Trust (ESS) Q3 FFO and Revenues Miss Estimates](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/essex-property-trust-ess-q3-212005835.html?.tsrc=rss&ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance - [Essex Property Stock Pre-Q3 Earnings: Smart Buy or Risky Move?](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/essex-property-stock-pre-q3-115300730.html?ref=bullished.co) — Yahoo Finance ### More on Essex Property Trust - [Essex Raises Core Earnings Outlook As Bay Area Rents Climb 5.4% And Los Angeles Stalls](https://www.bullished.co/essex-raises-core-earnings-outlook-as-bay-area-rents-climb-5-4-and-los-angeles-stalls-b8359949/) [All Essex Property Trust (ESS) coverage →](https://www.bullished.co/tag/ess/)