CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Investment in real estate
Land	$ 6,357,580us-gaap_Land	$ 6,295,404us-gaap_Land
Depreciable property	20,024,497us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross	19,851,504us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross
Projects under development	1,269,784us-gaap_DevelopmentInProcess	1,343,919us-gaap_DevelopmentInProcess
Land held for development	143,997us-gaap_LandAvailableForDevelopment	184,556us-gaap_LandAvailableForDevelopment
Investment in real estate	27,795,858	27,675,383
Real Estate Investment Property, Accumulated Depreciation	(5,600,485)	(5,432,805)
Investment in real estate, net	22,195,373us-gaap_RealEstateInvestmentPropertyNet	22,242,578us-gaap_RealEstateInvestmentPropertyNet
Cash and cash equivalents	49,418	40,080
Investments in unconsolidated entities	89,284	105,434
Deposits - restricted	203,800	72,303
Escrow deposits - mortgage	50,659	48,085
Deferred financing costs, net	55,791us-gaap_DeferredFinanceCostsNet	58,380us-gaap_DeferredFinanceCostsNet
Other assets	384,723us-gaap_OtherAssets	383,754us-gaap_OtherAssets
Total assets	23,029,048us-gaap_Assets	22,950,614us-gaap_Assets
Liabilities:
Mortgage notes payable	4,957,876us-gaap_SecuredDebt	5,086,515us-gaap_SecuredDebt
Notes, net	5,430,806us-gaap_NotesPayable	5,425,346us-gaap_NotesPayable
Line of credit and commercial paper	470,826eqr_LineofCreditandCommercialPaper	333,000eqr_LineofCreditandCommercialPaper
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	202,110	153,590
Accrued interest payable	84,670	89,540
Other liabilities	383,057us-gaap_OtherLiabilities	389,915us-gaap_OtherLiabilities
Security deposits	75,294us-gaap_SecurityDepositLiability	75,633us-gaap_SecurityDepositLiability
Distributions payable	208,954	188,566
Total liabilities	11,813,593us-gaap_Liabilities	11,742,105us-gaap_Liabilities
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests - Operating Partnership	541,866	500,733
Shareholders' equity:
Preferred Shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 803,600 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2015 and 1,000,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014	40,180us-gaap_PreferredStockValueOutstanding	50,000us-gaap_PreferredStockValueOutstanding
Common Shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value; 1,000,000,000 shares authorized; 363,968,420 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2015 and 362,855,454 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2014	3,640us-gaap_CommonStockValue	3,629us-gaap_CommonStockValue
Paid in capital	8,539,115us-gaap_AdditionalPaidInCapital	8,536,340us-gaap_AdditionalPaidInCapital
Retained earnings	1,928,449	1,950,639
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)	(180,022)	(172,152)
Total shareholders' equity	10,331,362us-gaap_StockholdersEquity	10,368,456us-gaap_StockholdersEquity
Noncontrolling Interests:
Operating Partnership	219,566	214,411
Noncontrolling Interests - Partially Owned Properties	122,661	124,909
Total Noncontrolling Interests	342,227us-gaap_MinorityInterest	339,320us-gaap_MinorityInterest
Total equity	10,673,589	10,707,776
Total liabilities and equity	$ 23,029,048	$ 22,950,614

Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred and payable pertaining to goods and services received from vendors, are incurred in connection with contractual obligations or accumulate over time and for which invoices have not yet been received or will not be rendered.

No definition available.