The economic depreciation of real estate: Cross-sectional variations and their return implications

Abstract

This study analyzes how real estate depreciates in economic value as it ages. The economic depreciation of real estate affects investment decisions by decreasing appreciation returns and increasing income returns. The data show significant cross-sectional variation in depreciation rates for residential and commercial real estate for Japan and residential real estate for the U.S. The depreciation rate is larger if a property is commercial, newer, denser, located in a smaller city, more distant from the central business district, and in Japan. The depreciation rate of structures is approximately 6% for Japanese housing, 10% for Japanese commercial structures, and 1% for the U.S. housing. This study also proposes new methods to correct for survivorship biases. These results serve as essential inputs for the analysis of real estate investment, consumer choice of housing, sustainability, and the macroeconomy.