How to calculate the true value of a commercial property which provide steady stream of rental income for the investor?

Author: Sachin Gupta | Find me on Twitter Follow @sach_gupta

In our blog post titled “How to calculate the true value of the property”; we primarily focused on valuation of a residential property. In this post, we will however, focus on valuation of commercial properties which provide steady stream of rental income for the investor. This valuation approach is based on the principle that the value of a property is related to its ability to produce cash flows. For this approach 3 techniques are commonly discussed.

• Gross income multiplier:

Gross income multipliers are relationship between gross income and the sale prices for all comparable properties that are applied to the subject property.

Gross income multipliers (GM) = Sales Price/Gross Income

In arriving at a value for the subject property, the appraiser must develop an estimate of gross income based on the market data on comparable commercial properties. For the comparable properties the gross income should be annual income at the time the property is sold. Some appraisers use potential gross income (which assumes all space is occupied). Others use effective gross income (potential gross income less vacancies).  Since this method relies on gross income, therefore an assumption is made that the operating expenses are about the same proportion of gross income for all properties. This method relies heavily on current market transactions involving the sale of comparable properties. These techniques resemble the sales comparison method for valuation of a property discussed in the previous section in many ways. The focus of these techniques is to determine a market value that is consistent with prices being paid for comparable properties trading in the market place. However, rather than giving priority to adjusting for differences in value by adding and subtracting directly from the prices of comparable properties for physical and location attributes, these two methods tend to focus first on the income producing aspect of comparable properties relative to the prices at which they were sold. Adjustments are then made for physical and location dissimilarities.

• Capitalization rate

This technique is similar to the Gross income technique except that it considers net operating income (NOI) rather than the gross income of comparable properties. When it is suspected that differences in operating expenses exist between comparable, the focus of the analysis should be shifted from gross income to NOI.

Capitalization Rate (cap rate) R = NOI/Sales Price

Following data should be collected to calculate capitalization rate:

Sale price, rent, and operating expenses should be collected from brokers, agents who were involved in the sale of comparable properties.

Important warning: both Gross income multipliers and cap rate approaches does not assure that the property will be a good investment if purchased. They only assure the buyer that it is a competitive market price and that if the method is applied correctly, the buyer is not overpaying or underpaying for the property relative to what other investors have paid for similar properties. The question of whether or not it is a good investment will depend on the future growth in rents, income, and property values.

• Discounted present value techniques

This income approach is based on the principle that investors will pay no more for a property than the present value of all future NOIs. Based on the knowledge of market supply and demand, lease terms, as well as income and expenses, a forecast for cash flow is developed for a period for which we have knowledge regarding supply and demand, lease terms, income, and expenses. Normal forecasting period are 10 years.

1. The first step in this technique is to forecast NOI (based on market supply and demand, lease terms, and expenses)
2. The second step is to select a relevant period of analysis or the holding period for the investment.
3. The third step is the selection of a discount rate (r) – this discount rate is the desired return for the real estate investment based on its risk when compared with returns earned on competing investments and other capital market benchmarks.
4. Present value of expected NOI beyond the holding period. These cash flows are represented with reversion value (REV) or resale price.

Presently, capitalization rate method is used in India when evaluating the worth of the income generating properties. The discounted present value method relies on assumptions about demand and supply and therefore, there are possibilities of arriving at the wrong value of the property. 

Now, whenever you as an investor are looking to sell your commercial property such as office space or retail outlet, do your calculations as explained by us and make sure you get the right value of your property. Alternatively, if as an investor, you are looking to buy a commercial property, make sure to do these calculations in order to ascertain that you are not overpaying.

In a nutshell:

Did you calculate the true worth of your property before selling?? Let us know at nirrtigo@nirrtigo.com

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How to calculate the true value of the property? What are the methods to real estate valuations? Am I paying the right price for the apartment?

Author: Sachin Gupta | Find me on Twitter Follow @sach_gupta

Alright, you have now decided to purchase your dream home or a commercial property. But hang on, before you jump on the bandwagon and go for property hunting, keep in mind the valuations. By valuations we mean how much the property is worth at given point of time. So, you got to ask these simple questions…am I paying the right price for this property. Can I get anything lower than this? You need to understand the concept of market value before financing or investing in a property.

Market Value:
It is the most competitive price which a property should bring in an open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus.

How do you value a property?
There are 3 principle approaches to valuation of property. All these approaches require you to gather market information before you apply these approaches to value a property. The data you need to gather is:

• Identification of location or sector you are looking to buy the property
• Effective date of value estimate
• Gather market data on current rentals, capital values, and presence of social infrastructure

Approach 1 – Sales Comparison approach:
This approach is based on data provided from recent sales of property highly comparable to the property under consideration. If there are differences in size, scale, location, age, and quality of construction between the property being valued and recent sales of comparable properties, adjustments should be made to compensate for such differences. The more differences that must be adjusted for, the more dissimilar are the properties being compared, and less reliable the sales comparison approach. The fundamental principle for this approach is that an informed investor would never pay more for a property than what other investors have recently paid for comparable properties. Ideally the data should be collected of properties that are situated in the same locality (sub market).

For example, if you looking to buy an apartment in a builder project in Sector 85, Gurgaon. Collect the information about all other projects within the same locality and see at what price points apartments in those projects are being sold. Adjust for luxury specifications, approach towards apartment complex, and builder track record of successful and quality delivery. As an example, the price at which new apartments are being sold in Sector 85 is Rs. 5500 per Sq. Ft. A reputed developer has launched a new project at price point of Rs. 6200 per Sq. Ft. Why? Is this project offering luxury specifications? Is this project nearer to Highway or metro rail? Or what could be the reason for high prices? Ask these questions. Similarly, if something is being sold at below rate, try to understand why? Is there any litigation with the property? Are there any construction defects?


Approach 2 – Cost Approach:
For a new property, the cost approach ordinarily involves determining the construction cost of building, then adding the market value of the land. In other words, what will it cost you if you were to buy a piece of land and construct by yourself.

So, again, if you are looking to buy an apartment in Sector 85 in Gurgaon, check the prices of land or plots in the same locality. Let us assume, a 250 Sq Yd plot is sold at 60000 Rs. per Sq. Yd.

Below are the calculations you should do in order to arrive at the property value using cost approach.

Approach 3 – Income approach:
This approach is based on the principle that the value of a property is related to its ability to produce cash flows. This approach is highly recommended for commercial properties and least effective for residential properties. The income generated from commercial properties is capitalized to arrive at the correct valuation. We will cover this approach in details in next article.


So, now that you have some methods to calculate the worth of property you are considering to buy, we are hopeful that you will buy the right property at right price point.

Cheers :)

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