Definition of "Marginal utility"

Additional utility an individual receives when purchasing an additional unit of a commodity or service. Represents a trade off between units of cost and unit of utility. For example, an individual builds a luxury home with a swimming pool. To build a tennis court would cost $50,000 and require yearly maintenance. To add two tennis courts is extremely low, the marginal utility of building the additional tennis court at $25,000 is not enough to offset the additional cost involved. However, if it cost only $5,000 to build the additional tennis court, then there may be sufficient marginal utility to justify its construction.

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

New cost less accumulated depreciation to date. ...

Entrance or path to a land parcel. Passageway existing from property. An egress may lead to a roadway or some other form of exit. ...

Articles of personal property installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease for purposes of use in his or her trade or business, Trade fixtures are removable by the tenant before the ...

Favorable occurrence providing a good chance for success, usually in financial terms. ...

The imposition or collection, usually by legal or governmental authority, of an assessment of a specified amount. An example is a tax assessment on real estate. ...

Financial institution that channels the savings of its depositors mostly into mortgage and home improvement loans. It concentrates on originating , servicing, and holding mortgage loans. ...

Period of time between valuations of property for tax purposes in a given locality. ...

Fee payable because of late payment. For example, a mortgagor is assessed a $30 late charge by the bank for not paying the mortgage payment when due. ...

Potential customer or client in which there is a realistic chance of making the sale for the product or service. An example is a prospective purchaser of real estate that the real estate ...

Popular Real Estate Questions