AvalonBay Communities Announces Land Sale

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 2006--AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE/PCX:AVB) announced today the sale of a 0.87-acre land parcel located in Jersey City, New Jersey for a gross sales price of $15.0 million. The Company purchased the parcel in 1997 in connection with the development of The Tower at Avalon Cove, a 269-apartment home community completed by the Company in 1999 and sold in December 2005. The buyer of the land parcel intends to pursue condominium development on the site, although it is not currently entitled for this use.

The sale of this land parcel is expected to result in a gain in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles of approximately $13.2 million. The gain on land sale will add $0.175 to the Company's first quarter 2006 Earnings per Share ("EPS") and Funds from Operations ("FFO") per share. The Company generally does not project land sales when providing its financial outlook; accordingly, the Company's first quarter 2006 financial outlook for EPS of $1.25 to $1.30 and FFO per share of $0.93 to $0.97, provided on January 26, 2006, did not include the gain on sale from this land parcel.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc., headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, currently owns or holds an ownership interest in 156 apartment communities containing 45,161 apartment homes in ten states and the District of Columbia, of which fifteen communities are under construction and two communities are under reconstruction. AvalonBay is in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing 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 www.avalonbay.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. You can identify these forward-looking statements by AvalonBay's use of words such as "expects," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "intends," "believes" and similar expressions that do not relate to historical matters. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, a different gain on land sale amount due to differences in actual versus estimated transaction costs and other matters detailed in AvalonBay's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including AvalonBay's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 under the heading "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Forward-Looking Statements." AvalonBay does not undertake a duty to update forward-looking statements.

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