Three ways to value your property: income approach, sales-comp (price per square foot), or cap rate analysis. Built for Chicagoland commercial real estate.
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Commercial property is primarily valued by the income it produces. The formula is simple: Value = NOI ÷ Cap Rate. A building generating $100K NOI priced at a 7% cap rate is worth roughly $1.43M.
Lower cap rates = higher values but lower yield. Premium suburbs, credit tenants, and new construction trade at lower caps (in this estimator, a premium suburb runs 0.75 point below a secondary suburb). Older buildings, weaker submarkets, and vacancy risk push caps higher (8–10%+).
Every $1 increase in NOI at a 7% cap rate adds ~$14 to your sale price. Raising rents, cutting expenses, or improving lease terms before listing can add six or seven figures to your sale.
Cap rate math is a starting point, not the final answer. A real valuation accounts for tenant credit quality, remaining lease term, rent escalations, deferred maintenance, submarket absorption trends, recent comparable sales, and factors only a local broker can see. Two properties with identical NOI can sell for 30% different prices based on these variables. If you're thinking about selling, a professional Broker Opinion of Value is the next step.
Go deeper: how commercial property value is calculated in Lake County, and what selling a commercial building involves.
The estimator prices a building three ways because owners ask three different questions. Which one fits depends on how the building earns its keep.
An investment building is worth what its income supports. Buyers pay for the net operating income, priced at a cap rate that reflects tenant credit, lease term and location. Use the Income Approach tab, and bring your real rent roll and expenses, not asking rents.
A building you use yourself, or one with no lease in place, is priced like its neighbors: price per square foot from comparable sales. Use the Sales Comp tab. Size matters more than most owners expect: smaller buildings usually sell for more per foot, not less.
For buildings with five or more units, this calculator uses net operating income and a cap rate. Choose Multifamily in the Income Approach tab and use your actual rent roll and expenses. One-to-four-unit properties need a residential valuation; comparable sales and rental income may both be relevant.
This calculator does not estimate raw land values. Land is often compared per acre or per buildable square foot; zoning, utilities, access, frontage and parcel size all affect the comparison. For a land opinion, ask Jason.
Want the county’s numbers for a specific building before you run the math? The free Commercial Property Lookup covers 66,644 commercial, industrial and vacant commercial properties in Lake, McHenry, Kane and DuPage counties and 56 Cook County towns: building size, land, the county’s valuation, a computed property tax for Lake County, and the last disclosed sale, where recorded. It is the county’s view of the building, not a market price.
These examples use made-up buildings and the estimator’s September 2026 benchmarks. Enter the same numbers above and you’ll get the same result.
Annual rent is $180,000, with 5% vacancy and $45,000 in operating expenses. That leaves $171,000 in effective income and a net operating income (NOI) of $126,000.
Wheeling is in the estimator’s Secondary Suburb group, where cap rates for multi-tenant retail range from 6.50% to 9.00%.
Result: $1.40M at a 9.00% cap (quick sale), $1.63M at 7.75% (typical) and $1.94M at 6.50%. The $538,462 difference between the low and high estimates depends on tenant credit, lease terms, condition and buyer demand.
This industrial building is under 10,000 SF, in an established suburban location (the estimator’s Class B location) and in average move-in condition, with no highway, zoning or corner premium.
Small bays carry a 23% premium in the estimator, which puts this building at $96 to $141 per square foot.
Result: $767,520 to $1.13M. Change the condition to turnkey and the range becomes $863,460 to $1.27M. Mark it as needing work and the range drops to $614,016 to $905,280.
The seller asks $1.5M. Annual rent is $210,000, with 10% vacancy and $70,000 in expenses. That leaves NOI of $119,000 and a cap rate of 7.93%.
Libertyville is in the Core Suburb group, where the estimator’s typical office cap rates range from 8.75% to 10.00%.
Result: 7.93% is below even the aggressive band (8.25% to 8.75%), so by the estimator’s benchmarks the asking price looks ahead of the market. At 9.25%, the estimator’s typical office cap for this group, the same income supports about $1.29M.
These examples are illustrations, not appraisals or actual sales. Your building’s estimate depends on its own rent roll, size and condition. For an estimate based on recent comparable sales, ask for a free Broker Opinion of Value.
A calculator gives you the math. A Broker Opinion of Value gives you the answer. Enter the property address below and Jason Bitton — #1 RE/MAX Commercial broker in Illinois — will deliver a professional valuation with recent comps, market positioning, and pricing strategy. No cost. No obligation.
Commercial property is valued primarily through the income approach: Value = Net Operating Income ÷ Cap Rate. NOI is your gross income minus vacancy loss minus operating expenses. The cap rate comes from comparable sales of similar properties in the same submarket. A $100K NOI at a 7% cap rate produces a value of roughly $1.43M.
"Good" depends on your goal. A lower cap rate (5–6%) is strong if you're selling — it means your property is priced like a premium, low-risk asset. A higher cap rate (8–10%) is strong if you're buying — it means higher yield and more upside. As of September 2026, the cap rate ranges this estimator uses for a secondary suburb are 5.5% to 7.5% for single-tenant retail with a national-brand tenant, 6% to 8% for single-tenant retail with a local tenant, 6.5% to 9% for multi-tenant retail, 6.5% to 8.5% for industrial and 8.5% to 11% for office; premium suburbs run 0.75 point lower, core suburbs 0.25 point lower and tertiary markets 0.75 point higher.
NOI = Gross Rental Income − Vacancy Loss − Operating Expenses. Operating expenses include property taxes, insurance, management fees, repairs, utilities (if landlord-paid), landscaping, snow removal, and common area maintenance. NOI does NOT include mortgage payments, depreciation, income taxes, or capital improvements. Buyers scrutinize NOI carefully during due diligence — inflated NOI kills deals.
No. A calculator is a starting point — it gives you a rough range. Actual pricing requires recent comps, replacement cost analysis, tenant credit quality, lease structure (NNN vs. gross), remaining lease term, and absorption trends in the submarket. Pricing from cap rate alone leaves money on the table or prices you out of the market. This is the core work of a Broker Opinion of Value.
You can look up the public record by address. The free Commercial Property Lookup on this site shows, where recorded, building size, land, the county's valuation, a computed property tax for Lake County and the last disclosed sale for 66,644 commercial, industrial and vacant commercial properties in Lake, McHenry, Kane and DuPage counties and 56 Cook County towns. A county valuation is not the price a buyer will pay. For a market value, run the estimator above, then ask Jason for a Broker Opinion of Value.
It depends on property type, size, location and condition, and the spread is wide. As a reference point, the estimator's Sales Comp tab starts a 10,000–30,000 SF industrial building in a Class B location and average condition at $78–$115 per square foot (September 2026), then adjusts it: buildings under 10,000 SF price about 23% higher per foot, a prime corridor or turnkey condition pushes the range up, and deferred maintenance pulls it down. Flex, retail, office, medical and mixed-use each carry their own range in the tool. This illustrates the calculator's settings, not an asking price or valuation for a particular property.
Land is often compared per acre or per buildable square foot, and what can be built there matters: zoning, entitlements, utilities at the lot line, access and frontage. Two parcels of the same size can trade at very different prices for those reasons. This calculator does not price raw land. The Commercial Property Lookup shows a parcel's land area and county valuation where recorded, and Jason can give you a land opinion from recent land sales.
This calculator estimates a building with five or more units from net operating income divided by a cap rate. Choose Multifamily (5+ units) in the Income Approach tab and use your actual rent roll and expenses. One-to-four-unit properties need a residential valuation; comparable sales and rental income may both be relevant.
No. In Lake County the assessed value is set by Illinois law at one third of the assessor's market opinion, so multiplying it by three gives the assessor's view of market value. Cook County publishes its market value directly. Neither is an appraisal or a price a buyer will pay.