Methodology
Version 1.2 · effective 2026-08-15
Every figure on this site comes from one of the four definitions below. Each carries its formula, its source series, how often it moves, how it is classified, and where it stops being reliable.
Valulor Cap-Rate Band
indicated value = NOI ÷ cap rate · band published as low / mid / high
- Inputs
- Broker and appraisal transaction evidence collected by the Valulor Data Desk for each market and use class, plus a baseline seed per market where evidence is too thin to publish a measured band.
- Refresh cadence
- Bands are reviewed quarterly. Every band carries its sample size and observation date.
- Provenance
- Bands backed by three or more transactions: observed. Bands carried from a market seed: baseline seed.
- Known limits
- A band describes dispersion in past transactions, not a price for your building. It excludes lease covenant strength, deferred capital, environmental condition, and financing terms — any of which can move a real trade well outside the band.
Value gap and implied cap
implied cap = NOI ÷ target price · value gap = target price − (NOI ÷ band mid)
- Inputs
- Your own NOI and target price, plus the published band for the selected market and use class.
- Refresh cadence
- Computed in your browser on every keystroke. Nothing is stored.
- Provenance
- Deterministic arithmetic on your inputs.
- Known limits
- The gap is only as good as the NOI you feed it. Normalised NOI — stabilised vacancy, market management fee, a real reserve — is what a buyer or lender will underwrite, and it is usually lower than a trailing-twelve figure.
Median price per square foot
median of (sale price ÷ gross floor area) across promoted comparable sales
- Inputs
- The Valulor comparable sales register, filtered to promoted rows for the market and use class.
- Refresh cadence
- Refreshed monthly as comparables are promoted.
- Provenance
- Observed where a register row exists; otherwise not published.
- Known limits
- Price per square foot ignores income. It is a sanity check against the income approach, not a substitute for it, and it is unstable in markets with fewer than five recorded trades.
Publishability gate (anti-doorway rule)
publishable = tierAllows(city, useClass) AND observations(city, useClass) > 0
- Inputs
- City tier (1–3) and use-class tier (1–3). Tier 1 markets carry every use class; tier 2 markets carry tier 1–2; tier 3 markets carry core classes only.
- Refresh cadence
- Evaluated at render time on every request.
- Provenance
- Deterministic rule, not a measurement.
- Known limits
- The gate governs indexation, not accuracy. A page can pass the gate and still rest on a baseline seed — which is why provenance labels sit beside every figure.
Provenance classes
How these figures were produced
- Observed — Recorded directly from the cited transaction or survey, unadjusted.
- Modelled — Derived arithmetically from observed inputs using the published method; not a market quote.
- Baseline seed — A documented starting estimate awaiting first observation. Treat as an order-of-magnitude figure only.
Revision log
v1.2 ·
Added provenance classes (observed / modelled / baseline seed) and required every published figure to carry one. Documented the band-versus-target price gap test used on market-by-use-class pages.
v1.1 ·
Anti-doorway gate formalised: a market-by-use-class page is indexable only when the tier rule allows it and at least one metrics row backs it.
v1.0 ·
First publication of the Cap-Rate Band, value gap, and price-per-square-foot series definitions.
Method changes are versioned here. Data corrections are logged separately.
Questions about the method
Why anchor to the GoC 5-year rather than to bank prime or CORRA?
Most Canadian fixed-rate commercial term debt is priced as a spread over the Government of Canada bond matching the term. Prime and CORRA drive floating-rate and construction pricing, which is why those products carry wider, separately maintained spreads.
Why is the density score capped at 100?
Above the cap, additional lenders per building stop changing borrower outcomes — a market with 40 bidders does not behave twice as competitively as one with 20. The cap keeps the top of the scale interpretable.
How is the break-even rate solved?
By bisection on the coverage equation with loan and NOI held constant: the rate is bracketed between 0.5% and 25% and halved 60 times until coverage equals the product's DSCR floor.
Can I reproduce these numbers myself?
Yes — that is the point. Every formula above is stated in full and every input is either cited to a public source or shown on the page. The calculators run the identical arithmetic on your own inputs.
Not advice — Valulor is a data publisher. Every figure here is an indicated value produced by published capitalisation math from inputs you supply — not an AACI, MAI or otherwise accredited opinion of value, not an appraisal, and not advice. Lenders, courts and tax authorities require an appraisal from a licensed appraiser; confirm any number here before you rely on it. About Valulor