--- title: "Real estate | Altss Taxonomy" description: "Real estate as an asset class is investment in land and buildings, or in loans secured by them, to earn rental income and capital appreciation. This hub…" canonical: "https://altss.com/taxonomy/real-estate" --- Topic hub # Real estate [Real estate](https://altss.com/glossary/real-estate) as an asset class is investment in land and buildings, or in loans secured by them, to earn rental income and capital appreciation. This hub covers private real estate strategies, the vehicles used to hold property, how property investments are financed, and the metrics used to value and compare them. Strategies are ordered by risk and return, from [core](https://altss.com/glossary/core-real-estate) and [core-plus](https://altss.com/glossary/core-plus-real-estate) to [value-add](https://altss.com/glossary/value-add-real-estate) and [opportunistic](https://altss.com/glossary/opportunistic-real-estate). Later sections cover vehicles such as the [REIT](https://altss.com/glossary/reit) and the joint venture, financing and real estate debt, property metrics such as [net operating income](https://altss.com/glossary/net-operating-income) and the [cap rate](https://altss.com/glossary/cap-rate), and deal-level returns. Not in this hub: general lending mechanics, which are in [Private credit](https://altss.com/taxonomy/private-credit), and fund-level terms, which are in [Fund terms and economics](https://altss.com/taxonomy/fund-terms-and-economics). The promote is listed here because it is the incentive allocation used in real estate deals and joint ventures. Publisher: Altss LLCPublished 2026-01-07Content modified 2026-10-01 14 concepts ## Reference index Definition: [Real Estate (Asset Class)](https://altss.com/glossary/real-estate) — Real estate as an asset class is investment in land and buildings, or in loans secured by them, to earn rental income and capital appreciation, held directly or through funds, joint ventures, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and debt vehicles. ### Strategies by risk and return 5 concepts - [Real Estate Private Equity (REPE)](https://altss.com/glossary/real-estate-private-equity) Real estate private equity (REPE) is sponsor-led equity investment in property through private, usually closed-end funds or deal vehicles that buy, improve, develop or recapitalise real estate and sell it to realise a return. - [Core Real Estate](https://altss.com/glossary/core-real-estate) Core real estate is the lowest-risk equity style in private real estate: stabilised, substantially let, income-producing properties held with low leverage, where most of the expected return comes from rental income rather than appreciation. - [Core-Plus Real Estate](https://altss.com/glossary/core-plus-real-estate) Core-plus real estate is a private real estate style between core and value-add: mostly stabilised, good-quality properties held with somewhat more leverage, leasing risk or light improvement work than core, for a higher expected return. - [Value-Add Real Estate](https://altss.com/glossary/value-add-real-estate) Value-add real estate is a private real estate style that buys properties with a fixable shortfall, such as vacancy, dated space or weak management, and raises income and value through leasing, refurbishment or repositioning, using moderate leverage. - [Opportunistic Real Estate](https://altss.com/glossary/opportunistic-real-estate) Opportunistic real estate is the highest-risk private real estate style: development, distressed or heavily repositioned assets, complex capital structures and high leverage, with returns expected mainly from capital appreciation rather than income. ### Vehicles and structures 1 concept - [Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)](https://altss.com/glossary/reit) A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a corporation, trust or association that elects REIT status under US federal tax law and meets ownership, income, asset and distribution tests, which lets it deduct the dividends it pays. ### Financing 4 concepts - [Capital Stack](https://altss.com/glossary/capital-stack) - [Loan-to-Value (LTV)](https://altss.com/glossary/loan-to-value) Loan-to-value (LTV) is the ratio of a loan's outstanding balance to the value of the asset or collateral securing it, used to size loans and to measure the equity cushion that protects the lender if the asset's value falls. - [Debt Yield](https://altss.com/glossary/debt-yield) Debt yield is a commercial real estate lending metric equal to a property's net operating income divided by the loan amount; it gives the lender's cash return on taking the property over, independent of cap rates, interest rates and amortisation. - [Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR)](https://altss.com/glossary/dscr-debt-service-coverage-ratio) The debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) is the ratio of cash flow available for debt service to scheduled interest and principal in the same period, showing whether an asset or borrower can meet its loan payments from operating cash flow. ### Property metrics 2 concepts - [Net Operating Income (NOI)](https://altss.com/glossary/net-operating-income) Net operating income (NOI) is a property's operating income, rent and other property revenue less vacancy, credit loss and property operating expenses, measured before debt service, capital expenditure, depreciation and income taxes. - [Cap Rate (Capitalization Rate)](https://altss.com/glossary/cap-rate) The capitalization rate (cap rate) is a property's net operating income divided by its value or sale price; it expresses price as an income yield and is used to value income-producing real estate and compare pricing across assets. ### Returns and deal economics 1 concept - [Equity Multiple](https://altss.com/glossary/equity-multiple) The equity multiple is the total cash returned to equity investors divided by the total equity they invested; a 1.8x multiple means each dollar invested returned $1.80, with no adjustment for how long that took. ## Canonical URL https://altss.com/taxonomy/real-estate