Archstone Acquisition (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Feb. 27, 2013 Archstone	Mar. 31, 2013 Archstone	Mar. 31, 2013 Archstone	Feb. 27, 2013 Archstone Equity
Archstone acquisition
Percentage of assets and liabilities acquired			40.00%			60.00%
Acquisition related expenses recognized					$ 69,271,000
Acquisition related expenses reported as a component of equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated entities	5,223,000	(18,564,000)			29,457,000
Consideration
Number of shares issued			14,889,706		14,889,706
Value of shares issued			1,875,210,000
Cash payment			760,000,000
Fair value of indebtedness assumed			3,732,980,000
Principal amount of consolidated indebtedness			3,512,202,000	3,512,202,000	3,512,202,000
Debt fair value exceeds the principal face value			220,777,000
Debt fair value exceeds the principal face value relating to debt repaid			70,479,000
Principal face value relating to debt repaid			1,477,720,000
Redemption value of preferred equity			67,500,000	67,500,000	67,500,000
Information for acquisition that is included in condensed consolidated statement of operations comprehensive income from the acquisition date
Revenues	400,075,000	301,357,000		36,624,000
Income (Loss) attributable to common shareholders	141,739,000	75,427,000		(22,635,000)
Supplemental consolidated pro forma information
Revenues		384,078,000
Income from continuing operations		$ 106,853,000
Earnings per common share - diluted (from continuing operations) (in dollars per share)		$ 0.84