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Appellant presses for higher multifamily cap rates at Cortland Ballston; board upholds county approach
Summary
Appellant argued the assessment uses an unrealistically low base cap rate (~4.22%) and presented market sales and investor surveys showing 4.75–5.5% cap rates; county staff defended its methodology and the board confirmed the county’s 2026 value of $66,460,300.
Jonathan Harmon, representing the appellant for the Cortland Ballston property at 650 North Glebe Road, told the board the assessment’s base cap rate (about 4.217%) is materially below recent market sales and investor surveys and that a higher base rate should be applied.
Harmon listed several comparable sales and investor-survey low-end cap rates — including a 5.1% base cap rate on a nearby Latitude Apartments sale and CoStar Q3 2025 Ballston submarket data at about 5.22% — and argued the county’s base rate understates market risk. "When you're looking at sales and investor surveys, the lowest cap rate we can find is 4.75%," Harmon said, and recommended an upward cap-rate adjustment.
County analysts replied that their cap-rate development relies on Arlington County apartment sales and that investor surveys include loaded or different rate definitions; the county recommended confirmation of its methodology and value. The board, after questions and discussion about parcel-level data and comparability, confirmed the county’s valuation.
Why it matters: Cap-rate selection materially influences income-approach valuations for multifamily properties. This case demonstrates competing interpretations of sales and survey data and the BOE’s deference to county methodology when comparables and surveys are contested.
