How do brokers actually value a Los Angeles apartment building?
A real multifamily valuation prices the building three ways and takes the highest defensible number: (1) in-place income, meaning what current rents support at today's cap rates; (2) market-rent potential, meaning what a value-add buyer pays for the upside after honest renovation and turnover math; and (3) land value, meaning what a developer pays for the dirt under the city's CHIP density incentives or state density bonus law. Online estimates fail on LA multifamily because they see none of the three: not the true rent roll, not the regulation, not the zoning upside.
Start typing the address. The answer comes from the county roll and the city ordinance, on this page, free, with no email required.
Answered by Shaya Lowenstein, a Los Angeles multifamily broker at Lyon Stahl Investment Real Estate, CA DRE 01942326, with 15 years in apartment buildings and land across Los Angeles County. His closed sales are published with addresses and recording dates, so anything claimed here can be checked against the county record.
The inputs that move the number.
Actual rent roll versus market rents (loss-to-lease), RSO or AB 1482 status, expense reality at the buyer's new tax basis, retrofit status, unit mix, lot size and transit subarea, and the comp set that matters: closed sales, not asking prices. Regulation sets how fast rents can move. An RSO unit is capped at 3% from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, while AB 1482 allows up to 5% plus the change in the cost of living, or 10%, whichever is lower. Two buildings with identical income can differ 25% in value on regulation and land alone.
Why the honest number wins.
A valuation inflated to win the listing costs the seller months of stale marketing and a public price cut, and buyers smell both. I give the number I can defend in escrow, with the math attached. Sometimes that number says "hold" or "refinance instead," and I say that too; owners remember who told them the truth.
EDUCATIONAL ONLY, NOT LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE. RATES, THRESHOLDS AND ORDINANCES CHANGE, AND SEVERAL OF THE FIGURES HERE DEPEND ON FACTS SPECIFIC TO YOU. CONFIRM ANYTHING YOU PLAN TO ACT ON WITH YOUR OWN ATTORNEY OR CPA, OR WITH THE AGENCY THAT SETS IT.
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What do I need to provide for a valuation?
The address is enough to start. A rent roll makes it sharper. Within 48 hours you get closed comps, a rent survey within blocks, the as-is and upside numbers, and the play I would run if the building were mine.
Does a valuation obligate me to list?
No. The valuation is free and confidential, and most owners sit on it for months. It is how you find out whether I know your block.
SHAYA LOWENSTEIN · LYON STAHL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE · DRE #01942326 · (323) 944-2221