Cap rate and NOI on the real estate exam

Cap rate = net operating income / value. The trap is what goes into NOI: vacancy and operating expenses do, mortgage payments do not.

Updated 2026-09-23 · 1 source · By the RealEstateExamKit team
Formula card

Cap rate = NOI / value. Value = NOI / cap rate. NOI = effective gross income - operating expenses. Debt service is not an operating expense.

Worked example

A building grosses $120,000, with 5% vacancy and $38,000 of operating expenses. Investors expect a 7.6% cap rate.

  1. Effective gross income: $120,000 x 0.95 = $114,000
  2. NOI: $114,000 - $38,000 = $76,000
  3. Value: $76,000 / 0.076 = $1,000,000

Here is the trap

  • Subtracting the mortgage. Principal and interest are financing, not operations.
  • Direction. Higher cap rate = lower value for the same NOI.
  • Monthly figures. Annualize before dividing.

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Sources

  1. Pearson VUE - Texas Real Estate Candidate Handbook (national salesperson outline, effective March 1, 2025) (accessed 2026-09-23)