Many advisors will tell clients that a high caprate is better. They also recommend that the cap rate be between 5% to 10%. It is true that an investor should always invest in property with a higher rate of cap. A higher cap rate will predict a higher yield. But cap rates do not mean everything. The decision to buy property should take into account investor risk appetite, location, property condition, growth potential, NOI and many other factors. Investment opportunities with low cap rates may be attractive to certain risk-averse investors.
You can use the same cap rate formula to calculate the value of a building using its NOI. The example shows that if the property generates $500,000 of NOI and that the appropriate market cap rate (i.e. the unlevered returns) for similar projects in the same market is 5%, then you can divide $500,000 with 5% to calculate a $10,000,000 value. A project that generates $500,000 of NOI may be worth $8.3million if it has a market cap rate of 6%. This shows how shifting returns expectations in the marketplace (in the case of the cap rate) may cause implied real estate prices to fluctuate.
Cap rates can be used as a proxy to help determine whether an investment is safer or more risky. A lower caprate is associated with a safer investment or one that is less risky, while a high cap rate is associated with greater risk.
Additionally, cap rates can change over time. They can change depending on changes in building value or NOI. Market conditions and improvements made by investors to the property may also affect this change in return value.
Debt is not included in cap rates. Other return metrics such as cash on cash returns and internal rate (IRR), should be calculated. They provide a wider view of the opportunity.
Cap rate formula is as simple as it sounds: It is simply the annual NOI divided with the market value. A cap rate of 5 percent would be applied to a property with a value of $10 million and $500,000 of NOI.
Investors should choose the property with the highest cap rate. This is because it predicts a higher return.