Definition of "Replacement cost"

Mary  O Connell real estate agent

Written by

Mary O Connellelite badge icon

O Connell Properties

Are you thinking to yourself: What does replacement cost mean?

When someone in the Real Estate Market mentions Replacement Cost, they are talking about an evaluation of how much it would cost to build a completely identical new house to replace an old one. By completely identical, read as built with the same materials (or materials of equal quality), the same square footage and the same amount of bedrooms, bathrooms and whatever other types of rooms the preexisting house had. Included in this calculation is also the manpower required to build the new house on the place of the old one.

Why is this done? Well, determining the replacement value of an asset is mostly done for insurance reasons – like calculating the depreciation of the house over its useful life to cover any damage – but the so-called replacement cost approach can also be done by an Appraiser in order to help assert the Market Value of a house in volatile markets where the real estate market external factors are difficult to evaluate.

Real Estate Secrets:

Building a new house to replace the old one? There are a bunch of other terms you should look on our 
Glossary to guide you through this tiring process!

You know a difficult replacement cost to calculate? That of a trustworthy agent! Use The OFFICIAL Real Estate Directory® to find one!

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

(1) Revising the selling price of real property to reflect what it would be worth if typical financing was available. (2) How much real property would be sold for if all cash was involved. ...

Divider made of plasterboard or plaster used to partition rooms. A room is created by the walls surrounding it. ...

Width of a stair. ...

Personal property or real property that are passed on to heirs upon one's death. ...

Person's sole ownership of real property. ...

Upper layer of ground. ...

Principle stating that the joint tenants must have equal rights to possession of the whole property. ...

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 ...

Decision rendered by a court of law. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions