Is there a rule of thumb for how much square footage is 'typical' for a Xbr/Yba unit in a residential multi-family? I realize this is highly subjective with a lot of variance, but there must be some average square footage per living unit that one could baseline 'cramped' units against 'spacious' units in an area.
Local building code? 600sqft/unit minimum? Let me know your thoughts!
Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
It will vary greatly by city and by submarket in that city. I'm most familiar with Texas markets and Houston and DFW generally have larger units than Austin and San Antonio. And suburban properties generally have larger units than urban ones. Unit mix also varies between those scenarios too.
Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
5y
It will vary greatly by city and by submarket in that city. I'm most familiar with Texas markets and Houston and DFW generally have larger units than Austin and San Antonio. And suburban properties generally have larger units than urban ones. Unit mix also varies between those scenarios too.
Rental Property Investor · Coral Gables, FL · Member since 2016 · 199 posts · 266 votes
5y
@Lucian Guadagnoli I've never seen a rule of thumb, but @Bjorn Ahlblad has some good numbers. For our properties, they are typically in the following ranges: studio: 400 - 550sf; 1/1: 650-750sf; 2/1 or 2/2: 900-1100sf; 3/2: 1250-1400sf. As @Michael Le said, within a market, the sizes can range for various factors.
Thanks for your feedback! Yeah it might've been a little bit of a reach but the ranges sound like a good starting point. I'll tweak those to my market once I get more experience.
I can tell you new builds are over $100 a foot (more like $130-150) with out the land (so add the cost of location to that) so that would be the most, then adjust downs from there
the phrase "it depends" applies to location, quality, functionality of the floor plan. Like I can tell you open floor plans with an open kitchen will fetch higher rents than a galley kitchen.
another big "it depends" item is washer and dryer connections, not having that will make the property a very sub-par-dated property for example.
at the end of the day, the biggest driver is:
its rental income
and cost of management and if tenants are good payers
cost of maintenance
and in Texas (lots of places in Texas experience this), an appraisal district can torpedo local sales prices by harassing us very high values, making more owners want to sell and get the hell away from them.. many taxing authorities net more off an apartment property than some of the apartment owners around here... just saying that is a real factor you have to consider always but often over looked
and insurance, we got hurricanes really screwing us over on insurance, that will drive down values too
Real Estate Agent · Dallas, TX · Member since 2018 · 63 posts · 43 votes
5y
I would probably try seeing a few rentals in your target market and get a feel for what makes one 3 bed/2 bath rent for x and another rent for y. This might be remodel date, location, room size, etc. I think many renters are not as concerned about room size as you would be when purchasing a home, but layout, remodel date and location will play a bigger factor in the cost of rent. If you have a non-standard sized rental say a 600 sqft place in an area where most rentals are 1100 sqft you will have a much harder time renting the unit since your rental doesn't conform to the major demographic, on the flip side its not competing in the same space (but you'll likely get less for it overall) - vs a 600 sqft unit in San Fransisco is considered a spacious apartment and will be competitive in that market for rent since there are a lot of single people and younger couples renting in that area and housing is limited.
Of course this is all still market dependent which is why its important to learn the market(s) you are buying in and what the average consumer is looking for. I don't think there is a one-size fits all answer like Michael Le has said.