Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
Definition of "Floor Area Ratio (FAR)"
The ratio between a structure's total floor area and the total land area of the land upon which it is constructed. The floor area ratio definition is the ratio of the total amount of usable floor area that the building has to offer the homeowner, from the total area of the property on which the building has been constructed. The floor area ratio must conform to the building code's floor area specifications. A bigger floor area ratio is likely to represent urban highly populated areas, with high population density per square mile where there are more high rise apartment buildings and condominiums instead of detached family homes. The area ratio is used by local governments for use with zoning codes issues and delimitations.
The FAR (Floor Area Ratio) is calculated by dividing the total building floor area by the total building lot square area:
Floor Area Ratio = Total Building Floor Area/Gross Lot Area
What is the Floor Area Ratio?
When you consider the floor area ratio you don’t only look at the footprint of the building but at the whole floor area of the building. The things that are taken out of the equation in this calculation are all the unoccupied areas of the area like basements, stairs, elevator shafts, and parking garages.
What variates the floor area ratio of a city are factors like population density, patterns of population growth, and activities that involve construction in a city, residential neighborhoods, condominiums, etc. This affects the nature space, parks in cities where residential areas take over. These floor area ratios of cities are determined by local governments that enforce regulations and restrictions of new constructions to stabilize the balance of this ratio.
Being a key determinant of developments in any country, the floor area ratio is a deterrent to construction but it keeps it regularized. Not only the real estate industry struggles to maintain an acceptable level of floor area ratio, but any kind of industry throughout the country in order to open up space and the resources of the land to the real estate developers. A high floor area ratio allows developers to construct buildings for homebuyers, businesses, and industries, which increases sales and provides supply for increasing demand.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Examining and testing the ground to determine the conditions for building something, such as an office building. ...
A mortgage where the payments are overdue and open to a foreclosure action at any time. A mortgage not having a prepayment clause permitting the mortgagor to repay the mortgage at any ...
(1) Short-term loan that is made in anticipation of permanent longer term loans. The interest rate on such a loan is usually higher than on longer term loans. (2) A business loan in which ...
Zoning a portion of land in a given area for different purposes than its surrounding functions. For example, a locality may decide to spot zone a vacant lot in a residential area for ...
Apartment building in which each resident owns a percentage share of the corporation that owns the building. ...
One of series of parallel beams directly supporting a floor or a roof. Joists can be made out of wood, steel or steel reinforced concrete. Joists are in turn supported by other beams or ...
A provision that allows a mortgage recorded at a later date to take preference over an existing mortgage. ...
Federal agency providing home financing to qualified people in low-income, rural areas. ...
Statutes stipulating that the property of deceased individuals is distributed in a way that assumes that property during marriage is jointly owned and equally shared by the spouses ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.