Colonial Properties Trust Announces Sale of Multifamily Properties in Joint Venture.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Colonial Properties Trust (NYSE:CLP), a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties, announced today the sale of fifteen multifamily communities in which it has an approximate 23 percent interest through a partnership with DRA Advisors, LLC. The total sales price was $468.0 million and Colonial Properties' portion of the sale was $108.0 million. Proceeds from the sale were used to pay off Colonial Properties' portion of the existing mortgage debt of $53.6 million associated with these properties and the remaining proceeds of $54.4 million were used to reduce the company's unsecured line of credit.

"We recognized approximately a 77% return on investment during our ownership with DRA Advisors," said Paul Earle, executive vice president of the company's multifamily division. "Our joint venture investment in these properties in late 2004 allowed us to establish our operating platform in the southwest and as a result, we have generated several acquisition and development opportunities." Investing in markets like Las Vegas and Phoenix is consistent with our long term strategy to generate 80% of our income from multifamily properties located in high growth Sunbelt cities."

The fifteen properties located in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, total 3,959 units with an average age of sixteen years. The properties include Pinnacle at High Desert (430 units), Pinnacle Estates (294 units), Pinnacle at High Resort (301 units) in Albuquerque, N.M; La Entrada (130 units), Arabian Trails (384 units), Fairway Crossings (310 units), and Posada del Este (150 units) in Phoenix, Ariz.; Casa Lindas (144 units), Colonia del Rio (176 units), Hacienda del Rio (248 units), Pinnacle Heights (310 units), and Springhill (224 units) in Tucson, Ariz.; and Desert Lakes (184 units), Pinnacle at Flamingo West (324 units), and Talavera at Peccole Ranch (350 units) in Las Vegas, Nev.

Colonial Properties Trust, through its subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of multifamily, office and retail properties throughout the Sunbelt. Colonial Properties Trust performs development, acquisition, management, leasing and brokerage services for its portfolio and properties owned by third parties. The company has a total market capitalization of approximately $5.6 billion. As of September 30, the company owns or manages 46,125 apartment units, 17.7 million square feet of office space and 12.1 million square feet of retail shopping space. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., Colonial Properties is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CLP and is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. For more information, visit www.colonialprop.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Factors that impact such forward looking statements include, among others, real estate conditions and markets; performance of affiliates or companies in which we have made investments; changes in operating costs; legislative or regulatory decisions; our ability to continue to maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; the cost and availability of new debt financings; volatility of interest rates or capital market conditions; effect of any terrorist activity; or other factors affecting the real estate industry generally.

Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, the Company assumes no liability to update the information in this press release.

The Company refers you to the documents filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled "Business-Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, which discuss these and other factors that could adversely affect the Company's results.