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
Indicators reflecting future changes in economic conditions; referred to as the Composite Index of 11 Leading Indicators. This index indicates the direction of the economy in the next six ...
The reason a property appraisal is being made. The purpose of the appraisal is the first step in the appraisal process. The purpose of the appraisal should answer several questions: ...
Ability of the size of the land to accommodate the desired economic purpose. An example is having enough space to build a supermarket to meet the needs of the community. ...
Underground pit or tank used to store sewage. ...
You may have heard the term codicil in a conversation but might have yet to understand it entirely. What’s the codicil definition? “Codicil meaning” refers to a supplement ...
Individually owned lots and houses with community ownership of common areas. ...
Lender (such as a bank) that has the property of the borrower as collateral (security, lien). If the mortgage is not paid, the property may be sold to make payment on the outstanding ...
Building that is elaborately built with columns in a symmetrical way, generally with three floors and a gabled roof. ...
Large scale map of an urban area detailing land use. City plans are essential for projecting the growth, development, and redevelopment of the urban area. The major objective of a city plan ...

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