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August 8, 2011 8:30 AM EDT

ROCKVILLE, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT) (NYSE: WRE) has entered
into several contracts with a single buyer to dispose of its entire
industrial portfolio as well as two office assets. The assets to be sold
comprise a total of approximately 3.1 million square feet. The sales
prices under the contracts aggregate to $350,000,000.

The assets to be sold consist of 16 industrial assets (comprising the
entirety of WRIT’s industrial division) along with the Crescent and
Albemarle office buildings. The contracts consist of five separate
purchase and sale agreements, each covering one or more separate assets.
Three of the contracts (which aggregate to $235.7 million of assets) are
expected to close on or about September 1, 2011. An additional contract
(representing $44.6 million of assets) is expected to close on or about
October 3, 2011. The final contract (representing $69.7 million of
assets) is expected to close on or about November 1, 2011. Each of the
contracts represents a separate binding obligation to purchase the
associated assets. The escrow deposits under the contracts aggregate to
$20 million.

“In initiating these sale transactions, WRIT has taken a major step
towards executing on a strategic goal we set for ourselves at the
beginning of the year. Having our industrial portfolio under these
contracts enables us to focus our attention on redeploying expected
sales proceeds in assets that better fit our long term strategy of
acquiring properties inside the Beltway, near major transportation nodes
and in areas with strong employment drivers and superior growth
demographics,” stated George F. “Skipâ€� McKenzie, President and Chief
Executive Officer of WRIT. “We’re delighted to be moving forward with
our strategic plan at this current pace.�

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 86 properties
totaling approximately 11 million square feet of commercial space and
2,540 residential units, and land held for development. These 86
properties consist of 26 office properties, 16 industrial/flex
properties, 18 medical office properties, 15 retail centers and 11
multifamily properties. 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 potential for federal government budget reductions,
changes in general and local economic and real estate market conditions,
the timing and pricing of lease transactions, the effect of the current
credit and financial market conditions, the availability and cost of
capital, fluctuations in interest rates, tenants’ financial conditions,
levels of competition, the effect of government regulation, the impact
of newly adopted accounting principles, and other risks and
uncertainties detailed from time to time in our filings with the SEC,
including our 2010 Form 10-K and first quarter 2011 Form 10-Q. We assume
no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that
become untrue because of subsequent events.

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT)William T. CampExecutive
Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerTel: 301-984-9400Fax:
301-984-9610bcamp@writ.comwww.writ.com

Source: Washington Real Estate Investment Trust (WRIT)

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