ESSEX PROPERTY TRUST, INC.

The objectives of our compensation program for executive officers are to:

•Attract, retain, and motivate executive officers through the overall design and mix of cash, equity, and short- and long-term compensation elements;

•Reward individual performance by tying significant portions of short-term compensation in the form of salary and annual bonus opportunity to achievement of business unit and individual performance goals; and

•Align the interests of executive officers with the interests of the Company’s stockholders by tying significant portions of short-term and long-term compensation, in the form of annual bonus and long-term equity-based awards, to increasing distributable cash flow to stockholders, and increasing the value of Common Stock based on both internal and external growth initiatives.