Odd Multi-Family Marketing

[Brian Volland]

So I just wanted to pitch a question to you guys and see if you came up with the same answer I did. I'm seeing a number of MLS listings for fourplexes around the greater Phoenix area which are actually two fourplexes side-by-side. Any reasonable person looking at the property would assume it's an 8-unit apartment on two parcels.

So the question is, why would they break them up in the MLS listing? I imagine it's a very select group the would want to purchase only half of a property that is not meant to be split like that.

The answer I've come up with is valuation. With Phoenix's inflated property values on residential real estate, the owner (or realtor), lists it this way because they can then avoid being valued at using cap rates; now it's just comps.

Thoughts?

[Kevin Siedlecki]

@Brian Volland - taking your thoughts one step further, if they are listed as fourplexes, then a buyer can get a residential loan on them, instead of having to go commercial. That brings a lot more potential buyers, which contributes to the answer you arrived at: higher valuation.