Buy Properties Below Market Value

Using the cap rate approach to arrive at a property’s market value can be used for any rental income property. Including, multi-family units, office buildings, warehouses, retail strip malls, or similar properties that generate rental income.

This is particularly helpful when you want to arrive at a rough listing or resale price quickly and easily. When you might want to suggest a price for a particular rental property based on the market cap rate or a customer’s desired capitalization rate, for example.

In this article, we’ll use a mock situation and walk you through the process. Let’s assume that you were asked by a customer to suggest a selling price for his 8-unit apartment complex.

A) Determine net operating income

So you understand. Net operating income (or NOI) is one of the most important calculations made in regard to any real estate investment because it represents the property’s potential income after all vacancy and operating expenses have been subtracted; consider it as the investment property’s productivity, or measure of cash flow.

When the property is financed, for example, NOI represents the cash flow available to pay the mortgage; if the investor pays all cash for the property, and thus eliminates a mortgage payment, then it becomes the annual cash flow (i.e., cash flow before taxes).

As your first order of business, then, you would want to determine the net operating income for the property.

Here’s the calculation.

Gross Scheduled Income (GSI) less Estimated vacancy and collection losses = Effective Gross Income (EGI) + Income from other sources such as late fees, vending machines, and so forth = Gross Operating Income (GOI) less Annual operating expenses such as real estate taxes, utilities, insurance, maintenance and repairs, landscaping, management fees, legal and accounting, and so forth = Net operating income (NOI)

For our example, we’ll assume that the income property has a $54,000 GSI, $2,700 vacancy loss, $600 income from sources other than rent (i.e., coin-operated washers and dryers), and $20,760 annual operating expenses.

$54,000 (GSI) less 2,700 (Vacancy) = $51,300 (EGI) + 600 (Other Income) = $51,900 (GOI) less 20,760 (Operating Expenses) = $31,140 (NOI)

B) Determine the desired rate of return Next, we have to determine the capitalization rate we want to use for our calculation using one of two approaches. Either we research the market for similar income properties to arrive at a market cap rate or we use the customer’s desired rate.

For our example, let’s say that other similar apartment complexes in the area reveal an average cap rate of 6.23% and in turn make the decision along with the seller to use that rate. Bear in mind, however, if the seller is adamant about using his own desired rate, and it’s different from the market rate, we would side with the customer.

In other words, if our seller preferred to use a capitalization rate of, say, 5.5%, then we would calculate his rental property value based upon that rate of return.

C) Calculate the real estate value Lastly, now that we have the property’s net operating income of $31,140), and plan to use the market rate of 6.23%, we can calculate our customer’s income property value with this formula: Net operating income / Cap rate = Real estate value, or $31,140 / 6.23% = $500,000

Okay, now you’re ready to call your customer. Based upon a net operating income of $31,140 and a market cap rate of 6.23%, you estimate that the customer’s apartment complex has a market value of $500,000.

Of course, for our purposes, we kept it simple. In a real life situation you, naturally, would want to use credible and accurate (not pie-in-the-sky) numbers to arrive at the property’s NOI. Moreover, you would want to consider other factors that could influence the property’s value.

Upside rent potential, for instance, or the ability to add more units to the property would surely increase its market value. Whereas, perhaps an impending zoning regulation that would make it a less desirable rental, and maybe negatively impact the rents or decrease occupancy levels, would drop its market value. But you get the idea.

Residential investment property has gained immense popularity over the past decade. Owing to the increase in demand for rental accommodation, and the resulting rise in rental income, more investors are likely to dive in the residential property business. However, not all residential properties are profitable investments, and some investors might lose money if they don’t choose with discretion.
When you set out to purchase a residential investment property, your key intent should be to leverage, in order to cut down on personal costs, and to acquire an income generating asset. Typically, you should invest in a property whose rental income will cover its entire mortgage and operating expenses. Such a property is said to be “self-funding”. Once the mortgage is repaid you have two options – you may continue to reap the benefits of a steady rental income, or you may sell the property at market value (provided the property has experienced appreciation) and invest elsewhere.
In general, there are two primary sources of income from any residential investment property: yield and capital gain.
Yield is the expected annual rental return, which is expressed as a percentage of the purchase price. For instance, if the purchase price of a property is $100,000 and its expected annual rental return is $8,000, yield is said to be 8%. The yield, in combination with the terms of the mortgage, determines the personal expense on the part of the investor, in order to acquire the property.
Capital gain is the appreciation in value of a property. Or in other words, the profit accrued from selling an asset. It is expressed as growth rate in percent on an annual basis. Capital gains are generally estimated from the movements in average property prices.
It is wise to analyze both the capital gain and yield potential when selecting a residential investment property. The typical problem faced by you as an investor would be that high yielding properties normally offer low capital gains, and vice versa. You should strike a balance between yield and capital gain, such that it best suits your investment goals. What constitutes the right balance depends on your expected capital gain and yield.
It is recommended that your expected returns from a residential investment property be based on a comprehensive analysis of current trends and market conditions. It isn’t advisable to rely on intuitions when scads of money are involved.
On the whole, a residential investment property is a viable investment option if the returns meet your expectations, and exceed those attainable from other possible sources of investment.
Copyright © 2006 Joel Teo. All rights reserved.

The simple truth is that the market value of your home is what a buyer is willing to pay. An estimate of your home’s value is a prediction of what most buyers would be willing to pay at a given time. This prediction requires a close look at two factors: recent home sales in your area, and an assessment of the real estate market. Pricing correctly is fundamental to a successful outcome in the sale of your home.

Market Analysis

Recent closed sales in your area offer the most relevant data for predicting the sale price of your home. Later, when your home is appraised for the buyer’s loan, the appraiser will only consider closed sales. List prices of homes on the market are of interest too, because they show the current pricing trend.

If your home is superior or inferior to most homes in the neighborhood, or if there are no nearby sales, then it will be more difficult to anticipate the responses of potential buyers. In this case, a strategy of trial and error may be necessary. This strategy will require a realistic assessment of buyer responses. Sometimes buyer responses are unrelated to the size and condition of the home. For example, in an area where most buyers have grown children, a home with the master upstairs may not sell as high.

Real Estate Market

An important part of pricing is an assessment of the state of the real estate market. The market may favor sellers or buyers, or be in balance. An indicator of the quality of the market is the number of months of standing inventory in your market and price range. Use this formula to estimate months of inventory:

1) Count the number of sales in your market area and price range for the past 12 months. (Example: 60 sales between $300,000 – 500,000)

2) Divide the number of sales by 12, to get the number of sales per month. (Example: 5 sales per month)

3) Count the number of homes on the market now. (Example: 100 homes between $300,000 – 500,000)

4) Divide the number of homes on the market by the number of sales per month (Example: 100 homes selling at a rate of 5 per month = 20 months of supply).

The current inventory divided by the rate of sale shows the number of months it will take to clear the current inventory, and reveals the state of the real estate market.

Seller’s Market

Less than 6 months of unsold inventory is considered a seller’s market. In this market, there is a large number of buyers in proportion to the number of homes for sale. The demand for homes is greater than the supply. Buyers must compete with each other for homes. Sellers often receive multiple offers. Buyers will submit the highest price that the market will support. Prices will trend upward. In a climbing market, it makes sense to price slightly above recent sales.

Buyer’s Market

More than 8 months of inventory is considered a buyer’s market. In a buyer’s market the number of homes for sale is large compared with the number of buyers. This market is created by excessive construction, employment decline or high interest rates. A low number of buyers relative to the inventory results in lower prices. Sellers must compete with each other for available buyers. Prices trend downward. In a falling market, prices should be set at the lower end of the range because time works against you – in six months prices may be lower. This may be difficult to do, especially if the home was purchased at a higher price.

Price Per Square Foot

Dollars per square foot is often used as tool for comparing homes. Keep in mind that you must make a sliding scale adjustment from larger to smaller homes. In other words, the larger the house, the lower the price per square foot for comparable properties. This is because the core square footage of a home has a higher value than the peripheral area. The price per sq. ft. on a 1,000 sf home will be much higher than a 5,000 sf home, for similar quality homes.

Should you price high, and hope for an offer?

Houses should not be priced over the market. This is not the best way to position your home for several reasons:

1) Your home will be shown to the wrong group of buyers. The buyer who steps forward will be an aggressive negotiator – someone who will make a low offer.

2) You will inadvertently help to sell the competition. Your high price will convince buyers that another home is a good value.

3) Your best leverage occurs during the early marketing period. Your days on the market is evident to buyers, and is a subtle but important factor in their decision.

How will you know if the price is correct?

Second looks from buyers is the best affirmation of correct pricing. This indicates that your home appeals to buyers in your price range. There may be a few nibbles before a buyer comes forward who is ready to act. It helps to get feedback from showings. However, keep in mind that buyers and agents are often reluctant to say something negative. Look at the overall result of all showings for confirmation of the price . If you are getting lukewarm responses, this will require a strategy of price reductions.

How long should you market a home at a given price?

There is no standard time frame for marketing at a given price. About 8-10 showings is a reasonable number to get a sense of the market response. This usually corresponds to about 2 – 6 weeks for an average home in a balanced market. About 30 days marketing time is a reasonable price test. However, this may be too short for an unusual or very high end home, for which there is a small market. Or, 30 days may be too long for your home if you need to move fast, and there is plenty of activity.

What if your home does not sell in a reasonable time?

If your home has been on the market for months with no offers, this is a clear message that the price is set too high. What you do at this point depends on whether you really need to sell. If you’re not really motivated to move soon, you could wait for the market to move up to your price. It would be best to take your home off the market and wait for better conditions. Buyers are suspicious of a house that has been for sale for a long time. If you need to sell, consider a schedule for dropping your price until it reaches a level that attracts buyers. At the right price, you home will sell.