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
Generally speaking, a moratorium covers a provisional or limited activity suspension. Temporary financial troubles or funding constraints can trigger issuing a lull. This postponement lasts ...
Section of the Internal Revenue Code that addresses tax-free exchanges of certain property. The general provisions for a tax-free exchange of real estate are that the properties must be ...
Predetermined price for a contract that will be the same irrespective of the actual costs incurred to complete it. This contract is advantageous to the buyer because he knows beforehand ...
Market condition in which the prices of real property are declining because of a lack of demand normally associated with a general economic slowdown. ...
Littoral refers to a piece of land bordering a large body of water that is not moving, such as an ocean, pond, sea, or lake. Many find "littoral" obscure since it's not widespread in ...
Platform erected on a roof in some New England homes having a view of the sea. It was said widows of lost seaman would walk on the platform looking out at sea for their husbands to return ...
Same as term graduated lease: A rental stipulation a varying rental rate. Rental rate are determined tied to periodic appraisals or an inflation or an inflation index. The provision is more ...
Same as term time sharing: Segregation of ownership in real estate property over a stated time period. An example is a co-owned vacation apartment, used by co-owners for one month each. ...
Current cost to replace property with an identical property after allowing for the depreciated value of the property. ...

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