Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
Definition of "Floor Area Ratio (FAR)"
The ratio between a structure's total floor area and the total land area of the land upon which it is constructed. The floor area ratio definition is the ratio of the total amount of usable floor area that the building has to offer the homeowner, from the total area of the property on which the building has been constructed. The floor area ratio must conform to the building code's floor area specifications. A bigger floor area ratio is likely to represent urban highly populated areas, with high population density per square mile where there are more high rise apartment buildings and condominiums instead of detached family homes. The area ratio is used by local governments for use with zoning codes issues and delimitations.
The FAR (Floor Area Ratio) is calculated by dividing the total building floor area by the total building lot square area:
Floor Area Ratio = Total Building Floor Area/Gross Lot Area
What is the Floor Area Ratio?
When you consider the floor area ratio you don’t only look at the footprint of the building but at the whole floor area of the building. The things that are taken out of the equation in this calculation are all the unoccupied areas of the area like basements, stairs, elevator shafts, and parking garages.
What variates the floor area ratio of a city are factors like population density, patterns of population growth, and activities that involve construction in a city, residential neighborhoods, condominiums, etc. This affects the nature space, parks in cities where residential areas take over. These floor area ratios of cities are determined by local governments that enforce regulations and restrictions of new constructions to stabilize the balance of this ratio.
Being a key determinant of developments in any country, the floor area ratio is a deterrent to construction but it keeps it regularized. Not only the real estate industry struggles to maintain an acceptable level of floor area ratio, but any kind of industry throughout the country in order to open up space and the resources of the land to the real estate developers. A high floor area ratio allows developers to construct buildings for homebuyers, businesses, and industries, which increases sales and provides supply for increasing demand.
Popular Real Estate Terms
(1) Temporary and symbolic payment showing good faith and obligating two or more individuals until a final transaction takes place. The binder is typically returned if the final agreement ...
A cooperating broker or agent defines a real estate broker who helps another broker in a private property transaction. Typically, the cooperating broker represents the seller and is ...
A legally transferable debt instrument by which the issuer agrees to pay the payee within a certain time period. Note usually pay a specified rate of interest tied to the market rate of ...
(1) Type of loan where the final payment is substantially greater than the previous payments; also termed partially amortized loan. A debt agreement might stipulate a balloon payment when ...
Earthquake insurance is the type of insurance policy that specifically covers damages to your real estate caused by seismic activities. It can refer both to the rare coverage against ...
Latin: now for then. Descriptive of actions which are performed after a deadline has elapsed, but retroactively have the same effect as if they were carried out in a timely manner. For ...
(1) Methods that involve discounting the future cash flows generated by an income property. These techniques are used primarily for valuation. (2) Methods of selecting and ranking ...
Approach to appraise rental property based on anticipated future earnings to be derived from it plus the estimated selling price at the end of he period held. ...
Landowner's legal right to the water found on his property. For example, there might be a stream of water adjacent to the land. The water might be used for irrigation or other purposes. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.