Risk assessment in estimating the capitalization rate

In estimating the market value of a property by income approach, the determination of the capitalization rate is ordinarily conducted through analogical process. The procedure is based on the identification of price-earnings ratio of similar investments. The analogy refers to the risk and the duration of the investment. However, in all cases there still remains a rate of uncertainty that significantly affects the final estimation of the property. This paper proposes a methodology which removes any uncertainty when evaluating the cap-rate. The aim is achieved through the combination of the formal logic of the Ellwood’s model and the Real Options Analysis. The algorithm developed has been applied to a sample relative to 57 Italian cities, considering annual prices from 1967 to 2012. The results highlight the validity of the model and the easiness of use.