Welcome to your guide on RCA Sales Transaction and Ownership data within Explore Pro+ (Pro + Only). This data package tracks buyers, sellers, brokers, and pricing dynamics to power your market research and underwriting.

To get the most out of this data, it is important to understand how transaction pricing is calculated and how to interpret the reliability of the figures displayed.
 

How Transaction Prices are Calculated

RCA’s dedicated research team seeks to obtain two to three sources for each data point. When presented with conflicting prices or information, the system utilizes a strict quality hierarchy to determine the final displayed value:

• Data Quality Precedence: The source with the higher level of data quality takes precedence. For example, if one price is confirmed and another is estimated, the confirmed price will be used.
   
• Broker Vouchers: When brokers submit transaction details directly through broker vouchers, the system typically relies on that information, as they are closest to the underlying transaction.
   
• System Averaging: When there are two conflicting reports received from more than one equally qualified source, the system calculates the average of the two.

Pricing Qualifiers Reference Guide

Each price is categorized by one of six qualifiers depending on the reliability and source of the information.
 

1. Confirmed

Information reported directly from a participant in the deal (the buyer, seller, or broker) or from public records. Most prices are confirmed via two or more independent sources; however, RCA does not guarantee its accuracy.
 

2. Approximate

Derived from reliable published reports attributed to industry sources and/or mainstream media outlets.
 

3. Street Talk / Rumored

The assumed price for which a particular property has traded. This is usually derived from published reports referencing a local professional not directly involved in the property‘s trade, but knowledgeable of factors affecting the price of a particular property.
 

4. Allocated

Used in portfolio deals when individual pricing is not available. An individual property‘s Price Per Square Foot (PSF) or Price Per Unit (PPU) price is adjusted based on each property‘s respective market PSF/PPU pricing level.

• Office, Industrial, Retail, and Self-Storage: The allocation is based on square feet.
   
• Apartments, Seniors Housing and Care, Hotel, and Manufactured Housing Communities: The allocation is based on the number of units.
   
• Note: Prices are generated using a proprietary algorithm and there is no rounding. Allocated prices are not usually an accurate measure of an individual property‘s price, but are accurate for the entire portfolio and aggregated statistics.
   

5. Estimated

Based on the offering price or market averages where no price information is available.
 

6. Appraised

Based on the official evaluation of a lender, or their appraiser/valuer (commonly seen in RCA’s refinancing data). The appraised qualifier is also used when a qualified 3rd party appraises a property or the property owner reports appraised prices in filings or press.

 

How is the Market Cap Rate derived

Cap rates are typically derived from the seller's or broker's stated NOI at the time of sale (the income the property is currently generating or expected to generate at stabilization). RCA captures and reports these as disclosed at closing or in subsequent public filings, so the NOI basis reflects what was represented in the transaction, not the lender's underwritten figure, which may be more conservative. 

How are mixed use assets considered in their valuations / price per unit? 

RCA records large mixed-use assets as a single portfolio, then allocates the total value across multifamily, retail, and office segments based on estimated values for each component. As a result, multifamily price per unit is based only on the value assigned to the residential portion, not the entire mixed-use asset.

For smaller assets with ground-floor retail, RCA generally does not make adjustments and treats them as standard multifamily properties. Any estimated or allocated pricing is excluded from pricing analysis.

Summary: Quick Takeaways

• Multi-Source Verification: RCA looks for 2–3 sources per deal. Higher-quality sources always overwrite lower-quality ones.
   
• Tie-Breaker Rule: If two equally qualified sources (like public records and a broker) provide different confirmed prices, the platform displays the average of those two figures.
   
• Data Exclusion: While Estimated and Allocated prices are visible on individual property profiles, they are completely excluded from platform-wide market pricing analyses to keep macro metrics clean and accurate.

Should you have continued questions, please contact the ApartmentIQ Support Team.