Defying concerns about supply in the market, the residential real estate market is back with a bang driven by robust demand levels. Per a study by the real estate technology and analytics firm, RealPage, Inc. RP, the second-quarter demand level of 175,645 apartments across the nation marked one-third increase from the level witnessed a year ago.This helped occupancy to remain high at 95.0% as of mid-year and led to stabilization in the annual pace of rent growth, which came in at 3.6%, close to 3.7% growth experienced in the first quarter. Notably, job formation and checked move-outs for buying homes acted as the catalyst.But not all residential REITs are equally poised to gain, as location of properties play a crucial role in determining the demand of properties.However, one such residential REIT stock which has been displaying strength is Essex Property Trust, Inc. ESS. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has gained 13.1% year to date, outperforming the 5.6% increase of the industry it belongs to. Furthermore, funds from operations (“FFO”) per share estimates for third-quarter and full-year 2017 moved north over the past seven days.This San Mateo, CA-based residential REIT is likely to well leverage on favorable demographic trends in its markets. In fact, demographic growth continues to be strong in the young-adult age cohort, which has a higher propensity to rent. This age cohort also experiences a considerable part of the net job growth and provides a significant source of pent-up demand.Moreover, despite the supply issue plaguing the market earlier, the company continues to display robust fundamentals and improving prospects. The company reported core FFO per share of $2.97 for second-quarter 2017, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.92. Core FFO per share also improved 8.4% from the year-ago quarter figure of $2.74. Results reflect solid growth in revenues.The company has also raised its outlook for full-year 2017. It projects core FFO per share in the range of $11.70–$11.96 from $11.56–$11.96 guided earlier, marking an increase of 7 cents at the mid-point.Further, the company revised estimates for same-property gross revenue growth to 3.2–4.0% from the prior range of 3.0–4.0%, indicating an uptick of 10 bps at the mid-point. Same-property net operating income (NOI) is now guided in the band of 3.3–4.6% from the previous range of 2.8–4.6%, marking a 30 bps expansion to the mid-point. Further, Essex has a 23-year history of increasing cash dividend.Why a Solid Choice?Same Property NOI Growth: Essex Property has been experiencing solid growth in same property NOI. In fact, per a presentation by the company, since 2012 through 2016, its same property NOI witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9%, well ahead of 5.5% growth recorded by the peer average. This trend is likely to continue in 2017 as well, with the company raising the NOI expectation for the present year.FFO Per Share Growth: Essex Property delivered an earnings surprise of 1.71% in the last reported quarter. In three of the trailing four quarters, the company delivered a positive surprise, with an average beat of 1.23%.Its historical FFO per share growth (3–5 years) of 7.34% comes above the industry average of 4.05%. This momentum is anticipated to continue in the near term as indicated by the projected FFO per share growth (F1/F0) of 7.39% for the company compared to the industry average rate of 3.71%. This, in turn, highlights Essex Property’s bright prospects.Superior ROE: Essex Property’s Return on Equity (ROE) is 11.5% compared with the industry’s average of 10.5%. This reflects that the company reinvests more efficiently compared to the industry.Strong Leverage: The debt-to-equity ratio for Essex Property is 0.88 compared with the industry average of 0.95. This mirrors the financial stability of the company and lesser risk for shareholders.Other Key PicksOther similarly-ranked stocks in the Residential REIT industry are Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc. ELS and Independence Realty Trust, Inc. IRT. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Equity LifeStyle and Independence Realty have expected long-term growth rates for FFO per share of 4.9% and 5.0%, respectively.Note: All EPS numbers presented in this write up represent funds from operations (“FFO”) per share. FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump PoliciesIf the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report RealPage, Inc. (RP): Free Stock Analysis Report Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (ELS): Free Stock Analysis Report Essex Property Trust, Inc. (ESS): Free Stock Analysis Report Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (IRT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research