Cost approach

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In real estate appraisal, the cost approach is one of three basic valuation methods. [1] The others are market approach, or sales comparison approach, and income approach. The fundamental premise of the cost approach is that a potential user of real estate will not, or should not, pay more for a property than it would cost to build an equivalent. The cost of construction minus depreciation, plus land, therefore is a limit, or at least a metric, of market value.

There are some fairly large assumptions embedded here. One of the basics is that there is a sufficient supply of buildable land that construction is a viable alternative to purchase of an existing property. In some parts of the world today, including in the US, there are areas which are either so fully developed, or so restrictive in their planning approvals, that new construction is not an option because of the scarcity of land. A related question is whether the building in question is anything that would actually be built again in that market. If the trend of development favors, say, high volume warehousing, would anyone consider building a multi-story manufacturing facility? If the trend is to high density condominium buildings, would anyone consider building a detached house? The cost of constructing an obsolete building is not considered relevant to market value.

There are other methodological issues which can be problematic. How do you estimate cost? Is it based on reproduction of an exact replica or something that is judged to be functionally equivalent? Can you even estimate cost very exactly? When a project is put up to bid, is there not usually a range of prices offered for the same plans and specifications? Is the final cost of a project equal to the original bid? How should profit be treated? Some maintain that the cost approach will normally be the highest of the three approaches. At the same time it is a truism that a project is only feasible if its projected cost is less than its completed value.

In between new and totally obsolete various negative elements related to age, fashion and change (depreciation) will accrue. These are lumped into physical (wear, tear and deterioration), functional (look, feel, form and style), and locational (the influence of factors outside the property itself).

It is generally considered that the cost approach gives the best indication of market value when the property in question is new and an appropriate (highest and best) use.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Historical cost</span>

The historical cost of an asset at the time it is acquired or created is the value of the costs incurred in acquiring or creating the asset, comprising the consideration paid to acquire or create the asset plus transaction costs. Historical cost accounting involves reporting assets and liabilities at their historical costs, which are not updated for changes in the items' values. Consequently, the amounts reported for these balance sheet items often differ from their current economic or market values.

This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depreciation</span> Decrease in asset values, or the allocation of cost thereof

In accountancy, depreciation is a term that refers to two aspects of the same concept: first, an actual reduction in the fair value of an asset, such as the decrease in value of factory equipment each year as it is used and wears, and second, the allocation in accounting statements of the original cost of the assets to periods in which the assets are used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valuation (finance)</span> Process of estimating what something is worth, used in the finance industry

In finance, valuation is the process of determining the value of a (potential) investment, asset, or security. Generally, there are three approaches taken, namely discounted cashflow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuation.

Imputed rent is the rental price an individual would pay for an asset they own. The concept applies to any capital good, but it is most commonly used in housing markets to measure the rent homeowners would pay for a housing unit equivalent to the one they own. Imputing housing rent is necessary to measure economic activity in national accounts. Because asset owners do not pay rent, owners' imputed rent must be measured indirectly.

Market value or OMV is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with open market value, fair value or fair market value, although these terms have distinct definitions in different standards, and differ in some circumstances.

Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property. Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every property is unique, unlike corporate stocks, which are traded daily and are identical. The location also plays a key role in valuation. However, since property cannot change location, it is often the upgrades or improvements to the home that can change its value. Appraisal reports form the basis for mortgage loans, settling estates and divorces, taxation, and so on. Sometimes an appraisal report is used to establish a sale price for a property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revaluation of fixed assets</span> Financial action

In finance, a revaluation of fixed assets is an action that may be required to accurately describe the true value of the capital goods a business owns. This should be distinguished from planned depreciation, where the recorded decline in the value of an asset is tied to its age.

Design–build, also known as alternative delivery, is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity known as the design–builder or design–build contractor. It can be subdivided into architect-led design–build and contractor-led design–build.

Comparables is a real estate appraisal term referring to properties with characteristics that are similar to a subject property whose value is being sought. This can be accomplished either by a real estate agent who attempts to establish the value of a potential client's home or property through market analysis or, by a licensed or certified appraiser or surveyor using more defined methods, when performing a real estate appraisal.

Business valuation is a process and a set of procedures used to estimate the economic value of an owner's interest in a business. Here various valuation techniques are used by financial market participants to determine the price they are willing to pay or receive to effect a sale of the business. In addition to estimating the selling price of a business, the same valuation tools are often used by business appraisers to resolve disputes related to estate and gift taxation, divorce litigation, allocate business purchase price among business assets, establish a formula for estimating the value of partners' ownership interest for buy-sell agreements, and many other business and legal purposes such as in shareholders deadlock, divorce litigation and estate contest.

Just compensation is a right enshrined in the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is invoked whenever private property is taken by the government. Under some state constitutions, it is also owed when the government "damages" private property.

The sales comparison approach (SCA) relies on the assumption that a matrix of attributes or significant features of a property drive its value. For examples, in the case of a single family residence, such attributes might be floor area, views, location, number of bathrooms, lot size, age of the property and condition of property.

Capitalization rate is a real estate valuation measure used to compare different real estate investments. Although there are many variations, the cap rate is generally calculated as the ratio between the annual rental income produced by a real estate asset to its current market value. Most variations depend on the definition of the annual rental income and whether it is gross or net of annual costs, and whether the annual rental income is the actual amount received, or the potential rental income that could be received if the asset was optimally rented.

Highest and best use is a concept in real estate appraisal that originated with early economists such as Irving Fisher, who conceptualized the idea of maximum productivity.

Engineering economics, previously known as engineering economy, is a subset of economics concerned with the use and "...application of economic principles" in the analysis of engineering decisions. As a discipline, it is focused on the branch of economics known as microeconomics in that it studies the behavior of individuals and firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of limited resources. Thus, it focuses on the decision making process, its context and environment. It is pragmatic by nature, integrating economic theory with engineering practice. But, it is also a simplified application of microeconomic theory in that it assumes elements such as price determination, competition and demand/supply to be fixed inputs from other sources. As a discipline though, it is closely related to others such as statistics, mathematics and cost accounting. It draws upon the logical framework of economics but adds to that the analytical power of mathematics and statistics.

The income approach is one of three major groups of methodologies, called valuation approaches, used by appraisers. It is particularly common in commercial real estate appraisal and in business appraisal. The fundamental math is similar to the methods used for financial valuation, securities analysis, or bond pricing. However, there are some significant and important modifications when used in real estate or business valuation.

The German income approach is the standard approach used in Germany for the valuing of property that produces a stream of future cash flows.

An Automated Valuation Model (AVM) is a system for the valuation of real estate that provides a value of a specified property at a specified date, using mathematical modelling techniques in an automated manner. AVMs are Statistical Valuation Methods and divide into Comparables Based AVMs and Hedonic Models. Other Statistical Valuation Methods are House Price Indices and Single Parameter Valuations.

Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as growing crops, minerals or water, and wild animals; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, buildings or housing in general. In terms of law, real relates to land property and is different from personal property while estate means the "interest" a person has in that land property.

References

  1. Uniform Standard of Professional Appraisal Practice, 2008, Appraisal Foundation, Standards Rule 1-4(b) p. U18