Definition of "Capitalization rate"

Natalie Bell real estate agent

Written by

Natalie Bellelite badge icon

Keating Real Estate

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.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Also called interim financing. A mortgage that provides the funds necessary for the building or construction of a real estate project. The project can be a residential subdivision, a ...

Represents a means of appraising a building by simply multiplying its square foot cost by the total amount of square feet in the structure being evaluated. Two or more buildings may then be ...

The total return from holding a real estate investment for the holding period of time. The computation follows: For a mutual fund investing in a real estate, the return is in the form ...

The practice of acquiring land for a future use. For example, a franchising company is projecting rapid nationwide expansion over the next five years. In order to prepare for the expansion, ...

Unincorporated combination (roll-up) of limited partnerships in a real estate together as a group. It is usually more comprehensive, financially sound, and marketable than individual ...

One who has died with a valid will in effect. ...

a rental in which the lessor pays all operating costs such as taxes, utilities, insurance, and maintenance. It is usually a short-term lease and a common arrangement. Typically there is no ...

The definition of a service fee or brokers fee in real estate is a flat fee paid to a real estate agent or broker in addition to the commission for the sale or purchase. This is to cover ...

People say time is money. The old-age cliche applies more than ever in our case as we define what the Time Value of Money (TVM) means.  You’ll find the term time value for money ...

Popular Real Estate Questions