The capitalization rate (cap rate) is the ratio of a property's net operating income to its market value, expressed as a percentage. The formula is simple: cap rate equals NOI divided by value.
A property generating $800,000 in annual NOI purchased for $13.3 million trades at a 6% cap rate. Rearranged, value equals NOI divided by cap rate, which is how appraisers and buyers most often use it.
Cap rate is the foundational valuation metric in commercial real estate precisely because it converts a single year of income into an implied price for the entire asset.
A cap rate can be understood as the return an investor would earn on an all-cash purchase: no debt, no financing costs, no appreciation assumptions. It represents the going-in income yield on the asset as-is.
This is what distinguishes it from IRR (which accounts for the full holding period, leverage, and sale proceeds) and from cash-on-cash return (which is the yield after debt service on a leveraged purchase). Cap rate is a property-level metric; it answers the question of what the market is paying for one dollar of stabilized income from that asset, in that location, in that condition.
Market cap rates are determined by the intersection of property-level fundamentals and investor capital flows. High-demand markets with strong rent growth expectations attract more buyer capital, compressing cap rates.
Weak markets with soft demand trade at expanded cap rates to compensate buyers for higher income risk. Within a market, cap rate variation reflects asset quality: a trophy office tower will trade at a lower cap rate than a suburban office building with near-term lease rollover risk, even in the same submarket, because the buyer base, income stability, and liquidity profile differ.
The practical implication for underwriters is that cap rates are not a given; they must be justified by comparable transactions and adjusted for the subject property's specific risk factors.
Cap rates have well-known limitations. They capture only one year of income, so they cannot distinguish a property with flat rents from one with a contractual rent escalation schedule, even though these are economically different assets.
They ignore the capital expenditure requirements that a buyer will face over the holding period; a building with deferred maintenance that trades at the same cap rate as a well-maintained peer is actually more expensive on an economic basis. And cap rates are sensitive to the definition of NOI: whether management fees, reserves, and non-recurring expenses are included or excluded materially changes the number.
Always confirm what is above and below the NOI line before comparing cap rates across transactions.
The cap rate is net operating income divided by value: a property earning $800,000 of NOI and worth $13.3 million trades at a 6% cap rate. Rearranged, value equals NOI divided by cap rate, so a buyer who believes a stabilized asset should trade at a 6% cap and sees $900,000 of NOI derives a $15 million value. This one-line relationship is why the cap rate is the most-used pricing metric in commercial real estate.
Conceptually the cap rate is the yield an investor would earn on an all-cash purchase in the first year: no mortgage, no leverage, no appreciation assumption. That is what separates it from the internal rate of return, which captures the whole holding period including leverage and sale, and from the cash-on-cash return, which is the after-debt yield on a financed purchase. The cap rate is a property-level snapshot, not a complete return.
A going-in cap rate divides year-one, or in-place stabilized, NOI by today's purchase price, describing what the buyer is paying now. An exit or terminal cap rate divides the projected NOI at the end of the hold by the estimated sale price, and it is a forward assumption the underwriter chooses. Because it sets the reversion value in a discounted cash flow, the exit cap is usually the single most sensitive input in the model.
Prudent underwriting typically assumes the exit cap rate is equal to or modestly above the going-in cap, often by 25 to 75 basis points, as a cushion against the possibility that today's pricing does not hold. Because a lower cap rate corresponds to a higher price per dollar of income, assuming cap-rate compression to exit (a lower exit cap) inflates projected value and should be justified rather than assumed.
A capitalization rate is a property's net operating income divided by its value or price, shown as a percentage. It represents the unlevered first-year income yield on an all-cash purchase and is the standard way to price and compare income-producing real estate.
Cap rate = net operating income / value (or purchase price). Rearranged, value = NOI / cap rate, and NOI = value times cap rate. For example, $800,000 of NOI on a $13.3 million property is a 6% cap rate; the same NOI valued at a 5% cap implies a $16 million price.
For the same NOI, a higher cap rate means a lower price, so the asset is cheaper and generally seen as higher risk or lower growth. A lower cap rate means a higher price per dollar of income, typically reflecting stronger demand, lower perceived risk, or higher expected growth.
A cap rate is a single-year, unlevered yield (NOI divided by value) that prices the asset as-is. The internal rate of return spans the entire holding period and reflects leverage, NOI growth, and sale proceeds. The cap rate is a snapshot; the IRR measures the full investment's time-weighted return.
A going-in cap rate applies year-one NOI to the purchase price, describing what you pay today. An exit or terminal cap rate applies projected NOI at sale to estimate the future sale price. Underwriters often set the exit cap 25 to 75 basis points above the going-in cap as a conservatism cushion.
Only partly. A cap rate equals the return an all-cash buyer would earn in the first year, but it ignores financing, future NOI growth, capital expenditures, and the eventual sale. Full return measures such as IRR or cash-on-cash return account for those, so the cap rate is best read as a pricing yield, not a complete return.
There is no universal number; a good cap rate depends on asset class, market, and risk. Stabilized multifamily and industrial in primary markets trade at lower cap rates (higher prices) because the income is seen as safer, while office, retail, and hotels trade at higher cap rates to compensate for more risk. A cap rate is only meaningful next to comparable sales for the same property type and market.
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