Cost Approach

(1) One of the three approaches to value, the cost approach is based on the principle of substitution – that a rational, informed purchaser would pay no more for a property than the cost of building an acceptable substitute, with like utility. The cost approach seeks to determine the replacement cost new of an improvement less depreciation plus land value. (2) The method of estimating the value of property by: (a) estimating the cost of construction based on replacement or reproduction cost new or trended historical cost (often adjusted by a local multiplier); (b) subtracting depreciation; and (c) adding the estimated land value. The land value is most frequently determined by the sales comparison approach.