Capitalization Rate
Also known as “cap rate” or “income yield”, Capitalization Rate is a useful way to compute the rate of return on a real estate investment. It is commonly used in the Income approach to determine the Market Value of a property.
Say you want to buy a property just to rent it and make a profit. You will be advised to discover the cap rate of that property in order to calculate what you will approximately earn renting that property to a Tenant.
To discover the capitalization rate of a property, divide the Net Operating Income (NOI) by the amount you’ll pay to acquire that property. In short, the capitalization rate is the value that one property produces divided by the value that property costs.
Here’s an example to better visualize it:
A building is for sale. It cost $100,000 when it was built 20 years ago. And it produces - between residential and commercial rent - $50,000 a year. The capitalization rate is 50,000/100,000, which equals 0.5%.
An important thing to realize regarding the cap rate is that it does not take into consideration the depreciation of a property. That’s why, when valuing a house, it’s crucial for an Appraiser to use all methods of evaluation appropriate to the case.
Real Estate Tips:
Maybe just learning a new term won't be enough to solve your situation. Check out our real estate questions; perhaps someone else has gone through what you're going through!
Or just head to The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory® and leave it to the pros.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Determination made concerning the motivation of a testator in making devises of the will. A will can be contested if it can be proved the testator did not have rational motives when ...
Where property is sold to the highest bidder. ...
When someone throws around the term “mobile home”, it almost requires further explanation to fully understand what that person is talking about. Why is that? Well, one mobile ...
The definition for the gross living area published by the Appraisal Institute’s Dictionary of Real Estate 4th Edition is: “The total area of finished, above-grade residential ...
Reformation in real estate means a legal action to straighten out an erroneous deed, a misleading document, an error, a paragraph, or a contract entirely which resulted from an ...
Taxpayer can deduct losses only to the degree of risk. Amounts are restricted to the cash investment and the debt from which the taxpayer is personally liable. ...
Aluminum or metal treated barrier that is placed between the concrete and wood of the foundation of a newly constructed building to prevent termites from infesting the wood. Many experts ...
Older property is bought usually by a governmental agency to be modernized and improved. In many cases, the deteriorating property is torn down and a new structure built. An example is ...
A fixed asset whose utility is derived from its physical attachment to a property and which usually cannot value or damage. A fixture, under the terms of a lease or other agreement, can be ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.