Glossary (click letters)
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Safe rate
The rate a low risk, liquid investment achieves.
Sale cost
The brokerage commissions and fees, and any additional transaction costs that are incurred
during the sale of the property.
Sale(s) proceeds before tax
The sale price minus the sale costs and the mortgage loan balance.
Sale-leaseback
A leasing and financing strategy in which a property owner sells its property to an investor,
then leases it back. This strategy frees capital that otherwise would be frozen in equity.
Sales comparison approach
A way to determine market value by comparing a subject property to properties with the
same or similar characteristics.
Sales comparison value
An estimate of value derived by comparing the property being appraised to similar
properties that have been sold recently, applying appropriate units of comparison, and
making adjustments to the sales prices of the comparable based on the elements of
comparison. [Appraisal Institute]
Sales per square foot
Sales revenue generated per square foot of retail floor space.
Sales potential
The possible or expected revenue of a retail outlet as defined by conditions within the
market or trade area and the forces of competition.
Sales price point of indifference
The future reversionary value (sales price) that would make the present cost of leasing
mathematically equal to the present cost of owning a property.
Sales proceeds after tax
The sale proceeds before tax minus the tax liability on the sale.
Sales volume
The total amount of sales/revenue generated by a retail outlet or facility in a given time
period.
Sample
A subset of a statistical population (typically selected randomly).
Sampling
The practice of obtaining a sample from a given statistical population.
Sandwich lease
See sublease.
Scale economies
Cost reductions, savings, or advantages that come about from efficiency gains associated
with increasing levels of production output or the increased size of an operation or system
(as the average cost of production falls with increasing output or size).
Secondary source data
Information obtained from second-party or archival sources.
Securitization
The phenomenon of indirectly investing in real estate markets in ways that minimize risk
(for example, investments made collectively with pooled money or the use of investment
packages/funds, such as mortgage backed securities sold on the secondary financial
market) as opposed to direct investments where investors own property or hold mortgages;
a long-term trend that has had significant impact on real estate values.
Segmentation of formal regions
The compartmentalization or division of formal regions into smaller geographic areas for the
purpose of carrying out a more detailed market area analysis.
Sensitivity analysis
The process of recalculating outcomes under alternative assumptions to determine the
impact of the variable under analysis.
Service area
The geographical area that encompasses/delineates the principal share of clients or
customers served by the tenants of the property (a concept that becomes less applicable as
the service area of the customer base increases).
Sinking fund
A fund designed to accumulate a designated amount of money over a specified period of
time. The periodic amount of money deposited plus compound interest will accumulate to
the designated amount of money over the specified period of time.
Site analysis
The identification and evaluation of a site or sites to satisfy a given use or objective.
Site factors
Site-specific factors, features, conditions, or attributes which are important in the analysis
or evaluation of a location/site (including relative location, visibility, aesthetics, landscaping,
condition of existing structures, regulatory mechanisms, and lot size).
Site selection
The process of determining the best site for a specific use.
Space market
The supply and demand for the use of physical space.
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
A classification scheme used for general recording purposes by government and industry to
categorize and account for economic and employment activity by sector using a series of
standardized and universally accepted codes.
Standard deviation
A measure of the amount of dispersion or variation of data points or values about the mean.
The standard deviation has a very useful property in that 95.4% of the values of a data set
will lie within two standard deviations (plus or minus) of the mean.
Statistical descriptions
Drawing a reasonable conclusion or deduction from statistical evidence based on sample
statistics, while attaching a statement as to the likelihood that an assertion made about a
given statistical population is true (in probabilistic terms).
Statistical population
The total set of elements or the collection of all individuals, items, or objects under
consideration in a statistical inquiry. In short, a population is a universe comprising all
members of a specified group.
Step-up lease
A lease in which the rental amount paid by the lessee increases by a preset rate or set
dollar amount at predetermined intervals. A step lease is a means for the lessor to hedge
against inflation and future maintenance or operational expenses.
Street-based mapping
Relatively easy-to-use GIS applications that allow the user to map objects such as
commercial properties or retail establishments by street address.
Sublease
A lease in which the original tenant (lessee) sublets all or part of the leasehold interest to
another tenant (known as a subtenant) while still retaining a leasehold interest in the
property. Also known as a sandwich lease due to the sandwiching of the original lessee
between the lessor and the subtenant.
Submarket
A segment or portion of a larger geographic market defined and identified on the basis of
one or more attributes that distinguish it from other submarkets or locations.
Substitute basis
The basis in a property acquired in a qualified Section 1031 Exchange is reduced by
deferred gain and becomes the substitute basis. For example, if the market value of
property given up is $200,000, and the basis in that property was $75,000, then realized
gain equals $125,000. Assume the market value of property acquired through a tax deferred
exchange is $350,000, then subtracting the unrecognized gain of $125,000 equals
the substitute basis of $225,000. The effect of this adjustment to basis is to build in the
deferred $125,000 gain into the property acquired. If the new property were sold the next
day for $350,000, a $125,000 gain would be reported.
Sunk costs
Investment costs that are committed and cannot be recovered.
Superregional center
A retail property type similar to regional centers, but because of its larger size, a
superregional center has more anchors, a deeper selection of merchandise, and draws from
a larger population base. As with regional centers, the typical configuration is as an
enclosed mall, frequently with multilevels.
Supply
The amount of property that will be made available for sale or rent at a given price or rental
rate.
Supply factors
Elements or forces that influence the supply of goods and services in a given market.
Supporting industries
Industries that offer goods or services that are necessary as inputs in a production process
or for the transportation and marketing of intermediate or finished products.
Suspended losses
Passive losses that cannot be used in the current year are suspended for use in future years
or at the time of sale.
Synthetic lease
A leasing and financing strategy whereby the terms of the lease under specific Financial
Accounting Standard Board guidelines change the lease obligation from a capital lease
(long-term lease on the company’s balance sheet) to an operating lease (short-term lease
on the company’s balance sheet).
System
See dynamic system and systems analysis.
Systems analysis
A methodological framework for investigating the structure, components, and functions of a
system.