Washington Real Estate Investment Trust Marks 50th Year with Ringing of the NYSE Closing Bell

ROCKVILLE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT) (NYSE:WRE) commenced its 50^th year in business by ringing the New York Stock Exchange closing bell on Friday, January 8. Joining Edmund B. Cronin, Jr., Chairman, and George F. "Skip" McKenzie, President and Chief Executive Officer of WRIT, were members of management and the Board of Trustees.

Founded in 1960, WRIT is the oldest publicly traded REIT formed under the landmark Real Estate Investment Trust Act (the Act). The Act, passed by Congress in late 1960, opened the door for small and retail investors to more easily participate in the investment of large-scale, income-producing real estate.

"We believe our success as a REIT and our track record of dividends is a shining example of what Congress set out to accomplish back in 1960," McKenzie said. "Unlike many other REITs that focus on operating a single property type across several regions, we focus exclusively on operating a diversified portfolio of real estate in one of the nation's best real estate markets - the Washington DC region. Real estate is a business where local market knowledge is critical - and we're now starting our 50^th year of owning and managing real estate in the nation's capital. As a public REIT, individual investors can tap into our expertise and own commercial real estate in this top-performing market."

McKenzie added, "WRIT has paid 192 consecutive quarterly dividends at equal or increasing rates. Over the years, the dividend, combined with the share price appreciation has delivered superior total returns. As an example, a $10,000 investment in WRIT on December 31, 1971, with dividends reinvested, would be worth over $2.8 million as of December 31, 2009."

WRIT is a self-administered, self-managed, equity real estate investment trust investing in income-producing properties in the greater Washington metro region. WRIT owns a diversified portfolio of 90 properties totaling approximately 11 million square feet of commercial space and 2,536 residential units. These 90 properties consist of 27 office properties, 20 industrial/flex properties, 18 medical office properties, 14 retail centers, 11 multifamily properties and land for development. WRIT shares are publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:WRE).

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the effect of the current credit and financial market conditions, the availability and cost of capital, fluctuations in interest rates, tenants' financial conditions, the timing and pricing of lease transactions, levels of competition, the effect of government regulation, the impact of newly adopted accounting principles, changes in general and local economic and real estate market conditions, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including our 2008 Form 10-K, our third quarter 2009 10-Q and our Form 8-K filed July 10, 2009. We assume no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events.


    Source: Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT)

Released January 11, 2010