Apartment Location Rating Definitions

Location Rating

Characteristics

A+/A

Defines the Tiffany of metropolitan area locations.  The property occupies a site incorporating unique characteristics (i.e. view of, or from, mountains; golf course frontage; lake frontage; ocean view); very close access to a high concentration of high quality employment, high quality shopping, immediate area demographics emphasize upper income households.

A-/B+

Area employment sources are highly concentrated, and of good quality (high paying jobs – gray-collar/white-collar composition); shopping and entertainment is nearby, and of good quality; the neighborhood environment is attractive, but not as demographically upscale as the “A+” location; area housing is relatively new, or priced well-above the median of metropolitan area single-family housing pricing; area direction of change in quality is improving, and is currently among the most desirable metropolitan area submarkets.

B/B-

Good concentration of general employment of all types; the typical neighborhood household is middle income; a good concentration of shopping is located nearby.

C+/C

Older neighborhoods, principally composed of blue-collar households; location provides frontage onto a substantial traffic carrier; employment concentration is generally located further in distance (more than three miles) from the property; area employment is generally oriented toward lower paying retail and blue-collar jobs.

C-/D

Does not provide major street exposure; the surrounding neighborhood is known to be a high-crime area; employment sources within a three mile radius are low-pay, or sparse in availability; area demographics tend toward very low income households, typically subsidized.