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

Real estate property incentive offered for reasons other than individual merit. A discriminatory inducement is an effort to get an individual to buy or sell, rent, or lease real estate ...

Also called a title defect. Any claim, lien, or encumbrance which, if valid, may impair the owners title to the property. This cloud does not hinder transfer of ownership on the property, ...

(1) Methods that involve discounting the future cash flows generated by an income property. These techniques are used primarily for valuation. (2) Methods of selecting and ranking ...

A Homeowner’s Association (HOA) is an organized group of homeowners in a home subdivision, condominium, or cooperative complex. They come together and found a Homeowner’s ...

The apportioning, disbursing, dividing, offering, or parceling out of property among individuals. (1) Probate: Court order to divide up and distribute the contents of an estate after the ...

Also called demand note. A loan with no established maturity period, callable on demand by the lender for repayment. The interest on this type of loan is calculated on a daily basis and ...

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 ...

Simply put, probate is a legal proceeding whereby the will of a deceased is tested for validity. The definition of probate is not known to most Americans. According to a Gallup survey, ...

An increase in the price or market value of real estate. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions