The 1% and 2% Rules in Commercial Real Estate | Commercial Real Estate Loans (2024)

Commercial Real Estate Glossary

Last updated on Feb 24, 2023

3 min read

The 1% rule states that a property's monthly rent must be at least 1% of its purchase price in order for the owner to break even. The 2% rule states that a property's monthly rent needs to be at least 2% of its purchase price in order for the owner to make a sustainable profit.

In this article:

  1. What Are the 1% and 2% Rules in Commercial Real Estate?
  2. How the 1% and 2% Rules Work in Practice
  3. Gross Rent Multiplier and the 1% and 2% Rules
  4. Limitations of the 1% and 2% Rules
  5. Related Questions
  6. Get Financing

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What Are the 1% and 2% Rules in Commercial Real Estate?

If you're a commercial real estate investor deciding whether a property is a good fit for your portfolio, you may wish to consider the 1% or the 2% rule. These rules are often used by investors to quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property.

The 1% rule figure is a straightforward calculation. Simply calculate 1% of the acquisition price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs. The result can be used as a baseline for rental income. If a property generates more income than this calculation, that means it is likely to be profitable.

The 2% rule uses the exact same formula, except calculated to 2% of the total sale price and immediate improvements. The use of this rule can be controversial, and finding a property that clears this threshold can be extraordinarily difficult. Generally, only assets at the low end of the quality spectrum tend to near or clear this rental income hurdle.

How the 1% and 2% Rules Work in Practice

If, for example, an investor is considering purchasing an office property for $1 million, a monthly rental income of $10,000 would clear the 1% rule threshold. But the revenues would need to be $20,000 every month to meet the 2% requirement.

Of course, the above example assumes that there are no immediate repairs or work to be done on the asset. If you need to immediately inject $200,000 into the property to make it attractive to potential tenants, the 1% and 2% thresholds would raise to a respective $12,000 and $24,000 per month.

Gross Rent Multiplier and the 1% and 2% Rules

The 1% and 2% rules are basically the inverse of a property's gross rent multiplier (GRM). Remember, the formula for GRM is as follows:

GRM = Purchase Price ÷ Gross Annual Rents

If we take the example of the office building priced at $1 million and say that it has $10,000 in gross monthly rents (to meet the 1% rule), that would equal $120,000 in gross rents per year.

$1 million ÷ $120,000 = 8.33 GRM

Since GRM and the percentage rules have an inverse relationship,the higher the percentage goes, the lower a property's GRM will be — and, the faster (in theory) that an owner can recoup the initial investment.

Limitations of the 1% and 2% Rules

While the 1% rule (and, to a lesser extent, the 2% rule) can be good rules of thumb, they're far from perfect. One of the biggest shortcomings of the 1% and 2% rules is the fact that they only look at revenues, but not at expenses. So, while a property could meet or exceed the 2% rule, it could require significant repairs and maintenance and be located in a bad area (for example,a dated, Class C industrial property), and thus might not be very profitable in the long run.

While these two calculations can offer a good, quick look at an investment opportunity, investors should never use these tools exclusively to make a final decision. Their main utility can be found in initially screening properties to determine which ones merit a closer look.

Related Questions

What is the 1% rule in commercial real estate?

The 1% rule in commercial real estate is a straightforward calculation used by investors to quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property. The calculation is 1% of the acquisition price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs. The result can be used as a baseline for rental income. If a property generates more income than this calculation, that means it is likely to be profitable.

For example, if an investor is considering purchasing an office property for $1 million, a monthly rental income of $10,000 would clear the 1% rule threshold. However, if there are immediate repairs or work to be done on the asset, the 1% threshold would raise to a respective $12,000 per month.

What is the 2% rule in commercial real estate?

The 2% rule is a rule of thumb used by commercial real estate investors to quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property. The rule is calculated by taking 2% of the total sale price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs. If a property generates more income than this calculation, that means it is likely to be profitable. For example, if an investor is considering purchasing an office property for $1 million, a monthly rental income of $20,000 would need to be generated to meet the 2% requirement. Of course, this assumes that there are no immediate repairs or work to be done on the asset. If you need to immediately inject money into the property to make it attractive to potential tenants, the 2% threshold would raise accordingly.

Sources:

How can the 1% and 2% rules help investors evaluate potential investments?

The 1% and 2% rules can help investors quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property. The 1% rule figure is a straightforward calculation. Simply calculate 1% of the acquisition price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs. The result can be used as a baseline for rental income. If a property generates more income than this calculation, that means it is likely to be profitable. The 2% rule uses the exact same formula, except calculated to 2% of the total sale price and immediate improvements.

While the 1% rule (and, to a lesser extent, the 2% rule) can be good rules of thumb, they're far from perfect. One of the biggest shortcomings of the 1% and 2% rules is the fact that they only look at revenues, but not at expenses. So, while a property could meet or exceed the 2% rule, it could require significant repairs and maintenance and be located in a bad area, and thus might not be very profitable in the long run.

While these two calculations can offer a good, quick look at an investment opportunity, investors should never use these tools exclusively to make a final decision. Their main utility can be found in initially screening properties to determine which ones merit a closer look.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the 1% and 2% rules?

The 1% and 2% rules are often used by investors to quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property. The 1% rule figure is a straightforward calculation of 1% of the acquisition price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs. The 2% rule uses the exact same formula, except calculated to 2% of the total sale price and immediate improvements.

The advantages of using the 1% and 2% rules are that they can provide a good, quick look at an investment opportunity and can be used to initially screen properties to determine which ones merit a closer look.

The disadvantages of using the 1% and 2% rules are that they only look at revenues, but not at expenses. So, while a property could meet or exceed the 2% rule, it could require significant repairs and maintenance and be located in a bad area, and thus might not be very profitable in the long run.

For these reasons, investors should never use these tools exclusively to make a final decision.

What other factors should investors consider when evaluating commercial real estate investments?

When evaluating commercial real estate investments, investors should consider the following factors:

  • The current and projected market conditions in the area
  • The potential for appreciation or depreciation of the property
  • The potential for rental income
  • The cost of repairs and maintenance
  • The cost of financing
  • The potential for tax benefits
  • The potential for tenant turnover
  • The potential for tenant defaults
  • The potential for legal issues

For more information, please see Investment Variables in Commercial Real Estate.

The 1% and 2% Rules in Commercial Real Estate | Commercial Real Estate Loans (2024)

FAQs

Does 1 rule apply to commercial real estate? ›

The 1% rule in commercial real estate is a straightforward calculation used by investors to quickly and easily understand the risk and opportunity present in acquiring a property. The calculation is 1% of the acquisition price plus any immediate and necessary improvements or repairs.

What is the real estate rule of 1%? ›

What Is The 1% Rule In Real Estate? The 1% rule of real estate investing measures the price of the investment property against the gross income it will generate. For a potential investment to pass the 1% rule, its monthly rent must be equal to or no less than 1% of the purchase price.

How accurate is the 1 rule in real estate? ›

The 1% rule is a guideline that real estate investors use to choose viable investment options for their portfolios. Although the rule has helped many investors make wise decisions regarding their investment properties, the current real estate market may make following the 1% rule unrealistic.

What is a good interest rate on a commercial loan? ›

The average interest rate on a commercial real estate loan is about 2.2% to 18%. The actual interest rate you secure depends on the type of loan you choose, your qualifications as a borrower, and the type of building or project you're financing.

Is the 2% rule realistic? ›

Are 2% Rule Properties Unicorns or Real? Most investors have a hard enough time finding properties that meet the 1% rule, let alone something that exceeds or even doubles that criteria. The good news for investors is that 2% properties do exist!

What is the 100 10 3 1 rule? ›

Many real estate investors subscribe to the “100:10:3:1 rule” (or some variation of it): An investor must look at 100 properties to find 10 potential deals that can be profitable. From these 10 potential deals an investor will submit offers on 3. Of the 3 offers submitted, 1 will be accepted.

What is the 80% rule in real estate? ›

The 80% rule means that an insurer will only fully cover the cost of damage to a house if the owner has purchased insurance coverage equal to at least 80% of the house's total replacement value.

What is the 0.8 rule in real estate? ›

This general guideline suggests that you charge around 1% (or within 0.8-1.1%) of your property's total market value as monthly rent payments. A property valued at $200,000, for instance, would rent for $2,000 a month, or within a range of $1,600-$2,200.

What is the 5 and 2 real estate rule? ›

The 2-out-of-five-year rule states that you must have both owned and lived in your home for a minimum of two out of the last five years before the date of sale. However, these two years don't have to be consecutive, and you don't have to live there on the date of the sale.

What is the 1% rule for cap rates? ›

The 1% rule is a strategy used in real estate investing to determine your cap rate. It states that when evaluating properties, investors should calculate monthly rent to be at least 1% of the total purchase price.

Is the 50% rule in real estate accurate? ›

Like many rules of real estate investing, the 50 percent rule isn't always accurate, but it can be a helpful way to estimate expenses for rental property. To use it, an investor takes the property's gross rent and multiplies it by 50 percent, providing the estimated monthly operating expenses.

What is the 10 second rule in real estate? ›

As part of its REALTOR safety program, NAR trains its REALTORS to practice the “10-Second Rule.” It says one of the reasons REALTORS and agents end up in dangerous situations is because they are not paying attention. To counteract, they should take 10 seconds to observe and analyze their surroundings.

What are normal commercial loan terms? ›

Unlike residential loans, the terms of commercial loans typically range from five years (or less) to 20 years, and the amortization period is often longer than the term of the loan. A lender, for example, might make a commercial loan for a term of seven years with an amortization period of 30 years.

What is 2% rule in real estate? ›

This is a general rule of thumb that determines a base level of rental income a rental property should generate. Following the 2% rule, an investor can expect to realize a gross yield from a rental property if the monthly rent is at least 2% of the purchase price.

What is the 2 percent rule? ›

The 2% rule is an investing strategy where an investor risks no more than 2% of their available capital on any single trade. To apply the 2% rule, an investor must first determine their available capital, taking into account any future fees or commissions that may arise from trading.

What is the rule of 2 percent? ›

One popular method is the 2% Rule, which means you never put more than 2% of your account equity at risk (Table 1). For example, if you are trading a $50,000 account, and you choose a risk management stop loss of 2%, you could risk up to $1,000 on any given trade.

What is 10 5 3 rule of investment? ›

The 10,5,3 rule

Though there are no guaranteed returns for mutual funds, as per this rule, one should expect 10 percent returns from long term equity investment, 5 percent returns from debt instruments. And 3 percent is the average rate of return that one usually gets from savings bank accounts.

What is the rule of 1-10-100 1000? ›

The 1-10-100 Rule is related to what's called “the cost of quality.” Essentially, the rule states that prevention is less costly than correction is less costly than failure.

What is the rule of 110 or 120? ›

The common rule of asset allocation by age is that you should hold a percentage of stocks that is equal to 100 minus your age. So if you're 40, you should hold 60% of your portfolio in stocks. Since life expectancy is growing, changing that rule to 110 minus your age or 120 minus your age may be more appropriate.

What is 10 10 20 rule real estate? ›

When you're on this “high,” rather than tell your fellow agents about your success, tell the neighbors: 10 houses to the right of the listing, 10 houses to the left of the listing, and 20 houses across the street from the listing.

What is Rule 70 in real estate? ›

The 70% rule can help flippers when they're scouring real estate listings for potential investment opportunities. Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home.

What is the rule of 35 in the real estate? ›

By law, lenders can't underwrite the loan unless they can determine the borrower will be able to pay up the loan. The whole idea behind the 35-percent rule of thumb is this: a borrower can afford no more than 35% of its monthly take-home pay.

What is the 7% rule in real estate? ›

The top 7% are hustlers. If they don't know something, they'll learn it. If the heat is on, they'll put in the extra hours to make it happen. You don't have to know everything, everyone, have all the money, or talent, but if you'll apply those two principles, you'll do very well in real estate.

What is the real estate rule of 72? ›

The Rule of 72 is a simple way to determine how long an investment will take to double given a fixed annual rate of interest. By dividing 72 by the annual rate of return, investors obtain a rough estimate of how many years it will take for the initial investment to duplicate itself.

What is the 20 percent rule in real estate? ›

According to the 20/10 rule, you should limit your non-housing debt to twenty percent of your annual net income and keep your monthly payments for that debt to less than ten percent of the monthly net amount.

What is the 5% rule in real estate? ›

Applying the 5% rule would look like this: Multiply the value of the property you own/like to obtain by 5%. Divide by 12 (to get a monthly amount). If the resulting amount is costlier than you would pay to rent an equivalent property, renting your home and investing your money in rental properties may work better.

What is the 5 percent rule? ›

In investment, the five percent rule is a philosophy that says an investor should not allocate more than five percent of their portfolio funds into one security or investment. The rule also referred to as FINRA 5% policy, applies to transactions like riskless transactions and proceed sales.

What is the 50% rule in real estate example? ›

The rule is designed to help investors avoid the mistake of underestimating expenses and overestimating profits. For example, a rental property that generates $40,000 annually in gross rents would spend $20,000 of that to cover expenses, according to the 50% rule.

What is cap rate for commercial real estate? ›

What Does Cap Rate Mean in Commercial Real Estate? (Definition) The commercial real estate cap rate, or the capitalization rate, is one return rate figure that CRE investors rely on to gauge the risk and potential return of an asset or property. Cap rates are measured as percentages, typically from 3-20%.

Is 2% a good cap rate? ›

Market analysts say an ideal cap rate is between five and 10 percent; the exact number will depend on the property type and location. In comparison, a cap rate lower than five percent denotes lesser risk but a more extended period to recover an investment.

What does 7.5% cap rate mean? ›

A 7.5 cap rate means that you can expect a 7.5% annual gross income on the value of your property or investment. If your property's value is $150,000, a 7.5 cap rate will mean a yearly return of $11,250.

What is the 100 times rule in real estate investing? ›

Savvy real estate investors often pay no more than 100 times the monthly rent to purchase a property. In the case of the couple above, an investor following the 100 times monthly rent rule wouldn't pay more than $750,000 because the monthly market rent was $7,500.

What percentage of a portfolio should be in real estate? ›

Investing expert Barbara Friedberg says a real estate allocation of 5% to 10% is a good rule of thumb since real estate is an alternative asset class. At the same time, private equity and real estate investor and serial entrepreneur Ian Ippolito recommends putting as much as 13 to 26% or more into real estate.

What is the 36 rule in real estate? ›

A household should spend a maximum of 28% of its gross monthly income on total housing expenses according to this rule, and no more than 36% on total debt service. This includes housing and other debt such as car loans and credit cards. Lenders often use this rule to assess whether to extend credit to borrowers.

What is the 25 rule in real estate? ›

To calculate how much house you can afford, use the 25% rule—never spend more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay (after tax) on monthly mortgage payments.

What is the 15 minute rule in real estate? ›

b) The licensee. What is the "15 Minute Rule?" a) 15 minutes after the moving van leaves, a neighbor will be disclosing what the real estate agent should have disclosed.

What are the 4 C's of commercial lending? ›

Note: This is one of five blogs breaking down the Four Cs and a P of credit worthiness – character, capital, capacity, collateral, and purpose.

What is the longest amortization for a commercial loan? ›

Commercial real estate loans typically have five- to 10-year terms but are amortized over a term of up to 25 years, which may leave them with a large balloon payment at the end of the term.

What are points on a commercial loan? ›

Points are calculated in relation to the loan amount. Each point equals one percent of the loan amount. For example, one point on a $100,000 loan would be one percent of the loan amount, or $1,000. Two points would be two percent of the loan amount, or $2,000.

What is the 80 20 rule commercial real estate? ›

The rule, applicable in many financial, commercial, and social contexts, states that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. For example, many researchers have found that: 80% of real estate deals are closed by 20% of the real estate teams. 80% of the world's wealth was controlled by 20% of the population.

What is the 50% rule in real estate? ›

Like many rules of real estate investing, the 50 percent rule isn't always accurate, but it can be a helpful way to estimate expenses for rental property. To use it, an investor takes the property's gross rent and multiplies it by 50 percent, providing the estimated monthly operating expenses. That sounds easy, right?

What is the 70% rule? ›

Basically, the rule says real estate investors should pay no more than 70% of a property's after-repair value (ARV) minus the cost of the repairs necessary to renovate the home. The ARV of a property is the amount a home could sell for after flippers renovate it.

What is the 1% and 50% rule? ›

The 1% rule can be used with the 50% rule in real estate to get a better sense of whether a rental property is a good buy or not. The 1% rule in real estate says that a property's monthly rent must be equal to or no less than 1% of its purchase price.

What is the 10% rule in real estate? ›

A good rule is that a 1% increase in interest rates will equal 10% less you are able to borrow but still keep your same monthly payment. It's said that when interest rates climb, every 1% increase in rate will decrease your buying power by 10%. The higher the interest rate, the higher your monthly payment.

What is the 2% rule? ›

The 2% rule is an investing strategy where an investor risks no more than 2% of their available capital on any single trade. To apply the 2% rule, an investor must first determine their available capital, taking into account any future fees or commissions that may arise from trading.

What is the 3 percent rule in real estate? ›

Rule No. 3: The price of your home should be no more than 3x your annual gross income. This is a quick way to screen for homes in an affordable price range. It also takes into consideration down payment percentages and prevents you from stretching too much, even with a high down payment.

What is the rule of 69? ›

What is the Rule of 69? The Rule of 69 is used to estimate the amount of time it will take for an investment to double, assuming continuously compounded interest. The calculation is to divide 69 by the rate of return for an investment and then add 0.35 to the result.

What is rule 72 law? ›

What is the Rule of 72? The Rule of 72 is a calculation that estimates the number of years it takes to double your money at a specified rate of return. If, for example, your account earns 4 percent, divide 72 by 4 to get the number of years it will take for your money to double. In this case, 18 years.

What is the 69 70 72 rule? ›

In Finance , the rule of 72, the rule of 70 and the rule of 69.3 are methods for estimating an investment's doubling time. The rule number (e.g., 72) is divided by the interest percentage per period (usually years) to obtain the approximate number of periods required for doubling.

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