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

To fulfill , complete, implement, perform, or carry out terms of an agreement including completing a signature on a contract and delivering a document to the intended party. ...

percentage of land that may be used productively to the total square footage of the land. For example, if total square footage is 40,000 but only 30,000 square feet may be built upon ...

Land that has poor income potential, usually used in an agricultural sense meaning that the land is untellable, has poor access, is extremely steep, has suffered serious erosion, is ...

Insurance protection for the replacement cost of damaged property. Thus, the accumulated depreciation is not subtracted in determining the amount of reimbursement. ...

Determines the ability of soil to absorb and draw down water. A percolation test is essential to determine the location of a drainage field for waste disposal. ...

An individual against whom a court has placed a financial judgment with a creditor. For example, a court determines that Cole owes Smith $2,000 and makes Cole a judgment debtor. ...

Person or business that obtains mortgages for others by finding suitable lenders. The mortgage broker sometimes deals with collections and disbursements. Typically the mortgage broker ...

Rights, interest, and benefits inherent in the ownership of real estate, as distinguished from personal property ...

Measure of central tendency that is a measure of the center of the data; also called an average. Mean and standard deviation are the two most widely used statistical measures that summarize ...

Popular Real Estate Questions