July 30 (Reuters) - Real estate investment trust

Mid-America Apartment Communities ( MAA ) raised its annual core

adjusted funds from operations forecast on Wednesday, helped by

strong rental demand in its key markets.

"Despite increased macroeconomic uncertainty, we are

encouraged by the record demand for rental housing that persists

in our markets, leading to second quarter blended lease

performance 40 bps higher than last year," CEO Brad Hill said.

The company raised its core adjusted FFO forecast to be

within the range $7.67 to $7.91 per share, from its prior

expectations of $7.63 to $7.95 apiece. However, analysts

expected full-year adjusted FFO to be at $8.69 per share,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

About 70% of the company's apartment units are located in

the Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas, according to its

website.

The Memphis, Tennessee-based REIT manages more than 250

apartment buildings in the Southeast, Southwest and Mid-Atlantic

regions.

The company posted adjusted core FFO of $1.85 per share for

the quarter ended June 30, compared with $1.92 per share a year

ago.

The average effective rent per apartment unit was 0.5% below

last year's levels. The occupancy rate, which measures the

percentage of units occupied by residents, was at 95.4% in the

quarter.