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
Typically, a waiver means remission or giving up on a particular claim. You can find the term waiver widely used in real life, finance, and real estate terminology. How do waivers work? A ...
Vendee refers to a person to whom something is sold. The meaning of vendee is a buyer of goods and services. A more common term for vendee is a purchaser. While a vendor is a seller, the ...
Broker employed by and therefore loyal to the buyer. ...
Same as term real estate: Also called real property. Anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, walls, fences, and shrubs, as well as the rights to own or use them. It is ...
One who donated or gives a gift or bequest. ...
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 ...
If escrow is the legal “moment” where assets are held by a third party (an escrow agent) hired by both the buyer and the seller of goods like real estate and insurance until the ...
A mortgage requiring a substantial down payment. It is usually only available to those having good credit, and has fixed monthly payments for the life of the loan. It usually has a 30 year ...
Written obligation of a borrower that is backed by collateral in the event of default. The lender must assure himself that the market value of the security equals or exceeds the amount of ...

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