Cap Rate Spread - Fee Simple vs Leasehold

Let's assume we are looking at primary market CBD office (NYC, Boston, LA, SF, etc).

Assuming a leasehold interest with at least 50+ years remaining and fixed rate increases, what type of cap rate discount would you peg for leasehold vs fee simple?

8 Comments
 

Any market data to validate this general rule of thumb? Currently looking at leasehold property in the Phoenix market where the broker has advised of a 50bps discount. Just been tasked to find some data points in the market to corroborate this - any further insight on this would be greatly appreciated!

 

A lot depends on the lease, as others have said. Lenders generally like at least the amortization period of the bond remaining on the lease at sale (i.e. 30 years of term for a 30 year amortization), and even that is pushing it. Additionally, you've got to present value the ground lease to come up with an implied leverage - a ground lease is basically just another form of financing. If you're too highly levered, it's tough to get financing.

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