NCREIF Property Types

NCREIF PROPERTY TYPES

Definitions and Guidance

5/8/2023

Contents

NPI Property Types ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

RESIDENTIAL ................................................................................................................................................................. 2

HOTEL ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4

INDUSTRIAL .................................................................................................................................................................. 5

OFFICE ........................................................................................................................................................................... 8

RETAIL ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Non NPI Property Types ................................................................................................................................................. 12

LAND ........................................................................................................................................................................... 12

SELF-STORAGE ............................................................................................................................................................ 13

SENIORS HOUSING ..................................................................................................................................................... 14

OTHER ......................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Mixed Use Property Submission Guidance ................................................................................................................ 16

NPI Property Types

RESIDENTIAL

Usage Field, for all Residential, select Student On-Campus or Student-Off Campus or Age-Restricted or General.

Guidance:

• Student – For-rent residential properties positioned by location, lease structure, and amenities to appeal to

student residents. Such properties are on the grounds of a college or university (Student On-Campus), or within

walking distance or a short bike/shuttle ride of campus (Student Off-Campus). Student housing assets typically

are dependent on college or university students as a primary demand source.

• Age-Restricted – For-rent housing restricted to residents aged 55 and above with operation aspects typical of

traditional rental housing. The category excludes all seniors housing properties.

• General – For-rent, residential properties NOT positioned as Student Housing and NOT designated as Seniors

Housing.

Design Field, for all Residential, select Garden or Not Garden or Manufactured Housing or Single-Family Rental

Attached or Single-Family Rental Detached or Single-Family Rental Scattered. Guidance:

• Garden – As a guide, refer to the National Apartment Association’s definition: “Garden-style buildings are three

stories or less, with multiple apartments per story, and landscaped grounds surrounding them. In most instances,

buildings are arranged with interior courtyards open at one end, and car parking either in front of the buildings or

along the perimeter. Each apartment has its own building entrance off of an open breezeway or shares an entrance

via a stairwell and interior hallway that connects other units immediately above and/or below it. Each apartment

occupies only one level. Garden-style apartment buildings typically do not have elevators.

• Non-Garden – For-rent, multi-unit residential buildings not classified as Garden.

• Manufactured Housing – Pre-manufactured housing complexes, including mobile home facilities. Manufactured

Housing is inclusive of both park-owned communities (where the landlord owns the units) and resident-owned

communities (where the residents own the units and rent the pad-site from the park owner).

• Single-Family Rental – These are build-for-rent communities providing a cohesive offering of single-family homes,

with on-site management and maintenance. In Attached communities, the homes vary in scale, density, and

orientation but typically provide attached garages and larger, non-stacked unit sizes. Detached communities

typically offer the largest homes, detached, and containing three or more bedrooms and dedicated garages. Both

Attached and Detached should be reported at the community level.

• Single-Family Rental Scattered – This consists of aggregated single-family homes that are uniformly branded,

professionally managed, and use a master leasing and operating platform. These should be reported at the metro

area/division level.

Number of Floors

• Enter the number of floors as a whole number and not a range. Guidance:

o If the property consists of more than one building, enter the average number of floors for the buildings.

o If property has multiple uses (i.e., street level retail, hotel), enter the number of floors for the entire

property, not the number of floors for the apartment component.

Additional New Field for Apartment Assets

• Leasing Field, for all Student On or Off Campus apartments, select By Bed or By Unit

o By Bed Guidance: Each resident tenant of the unit is on a separate lease and pays a separate bill monthly.

The number of unit residents is the same as the number of beds.

o B

y Unit Guidance: All residents of a unit are on the same lease and the property owner collects one

payment per unit.

Subtype

Defined using the Usage and Design:

Apartment

Usage: General OR Age-Restricted

Design: Garden OR Not Garden

New Clusters

within Apartment

Subtype

Garden = Design: Garden

Low-Rise = Design: Not Garden AND # Floors = 1 to 4

Mid-Rise = Design: Not Garden AND # Floors = 5 to 10

High-Rise = Design: Not Garden AND # Floors > 10

Student

Usage: Student On-Campus OR Student Off-Campus

New Clusters

within Student

Subtype

On-Campus = Usage: Student On-Campus

Off-Campus = Usage: Student Off-Campus

Manufactured

Housing

Usage: General OR Age-Restricted

Design: Manufactured Housing

Single-Family

Rental

Usage: General OR Age-Restricted

Design: Single-Family Rental Attached OR Single-Family Rental Detached OR Single-

Family Rental Scattered

New Clusters

within Apartment

Subtype

Purpose Built Attached = Design: Single-Family Rental Attached

Purpose Built Detached

Design:

Single-Family Rental Detached

Scattered Site = Design: Single-Family Rental Scattered

HOTEL

Usage Field. For all Hotels, select one of the following: Luxury, Upper Upscale, Upscale, Upper Midscale, Midscale,

Economy, Independent with Food & Beverage, Independent without Food & Beverage. Guidance:

o For branded Hotel, match the brand name to the Chain Scale identified by Smith Travel Research. If the

property has more than one brand, choose the one that represents the majority of the rooms. Smith

Travel Research (STR), the hotel industry data provider, maps all U.S. hotel brands to one of six chain

scales. STR’s definitions are used here, omitting their references to food & beverage revenue. The Chain

Scale reference document can be found on the STR Website, here:

https://str.com/data-insights/resources/documents

o For non-branded Hotel, choose Independent with Food & Beverage if it has those offerings on premises

(restaurant / room service). Otherwise choose Independent without Food & Beverage.

Design Field. For all Hotels, select one of the following: Resort, Not Resort

Guidance:

• Resort - If located in natural and picturesque surroundings or within a self-contained recreational leisure

destination. Resort locations have amenities and features designed primarily to provide relaxation and recreation.

Else, Not Resort

Subtype

Defined by the Usage field:

Full Service

Luxury

Upper Upscale

Upscale

Upper Midscale

Independent Hotels with Food & Beverage

Limited Service

Midscale

Economy

Independent Hotels without Food & Beverage

Subtype Descriptions:

• Full Service – Full service hotels are generally hotels with meeting space, a restaurant, and lounge facilities, as

well as minimum service levels often including bell service and room service.

• Limited Service – Limited service hotels have rooms-only operations (i.e., without food and beverage service) or

offer a bedroom and bathroom for the night, but very few other services and amenities.

INDUSTRIAL

Design Field, for all Industrial properties, in selecting the Design, the focus is on the physical characteristics of the

property and not the tenancy/usage of the property (with the exception of Life Science, where tenancy is a

consideration). For example, if the building has the physical characteristics of a general purpose warehouse facility

but has a tenant who is doing light manufacturing, select one General Purpose Warehouse. Unless the property

undergoes significant capital expenditures beyond basic tenant improvements (paint, carpet, warehouse door repairs,

etc.) the design will not change as the building is re-tenanted. Select one of the following. Guidance:

• Manufacturing – A facility specifically designed for the conversion, fabrication and/or assembly of raw or partly

wrought materials into products/goods. Buildings vary in size, clear heights, and office percentages.

• General Purpose Warehouse – A facility primarily designed for the storage and/or distribution of materials, goods,

and merchandise. Buildings typically feature clear heights over 18 feet and office finishes below 15%.

• Distribution – A specialized type of warehouse facility designed to accommodate efficient movement of goods.

Buildings differ from general purpose warehouses as they have lower office finishes (typically less than 10%),

larger tenants (typically greater than 100,000), and higher clear heights (typically 30’ plus).

• General Purpose Flex – An industrial building designed to allow its occupants flexibility of alternative uses of the

space. Buildings typically feature 25-100% office finishes and high curb appeal and parking ratios.

• Research and Development – A subset of general-purpose flex. It is an industrial building built to allow a flexibility

of alternative uses but is specialized in that it is built out to accommodate lab space that can be used for a range

of research and development activities but does not meet the definition of life sciences. Buildings typically feature

25-100% office finish/lab space and high curb appeal and parking ratios.

• Office / Showroom – A specialized flex facility characterized by a substantial showroom area, usually fronting a

freeway or major road. Buildings typically feature 25-100% office/retail finishes (low or no lab space) and high

curb appeal and parking ratios.

• Life Science – Industrial building that is Life Science Capable, meaning that the building is configured with

enhanced base building infrastructure in order to support usage as a lab facility. This includes electrical, HVAC,

ventilation, and/or plumbing systems that are designed for use within a research or production laboratory

(including GMP facilities). These highly specialized laboratory or research and development buildings are intended

for the use of life science tenants and would be classified as industrial buildings absent the specialized building

infrastructure. Life science tenants encompass a wide range of medical fields, including biotechnology,

pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, life systems technologies, nutraceuticals, and the manufacturing of

biomedical devices.

o In addition to Life Science Capabilities, at least 40% of the space improvements must be built out for life

science lab usage, AND / OR 40% of the space must be leased to life science tenancy. The remainder of

the space should be configured for other industrial uses.

• Refrigerated Storage – A specialized type of warehouse with freezer/cooler space that encompasses the majority

of the warehouse space. Buildings typically feature clear heights over 16 feet and office finishes below 20%.

• Air Cargo – An industrial facility designed for the efficient movement of goods via plane and located on airport

property or immediately adjacent to the airport. Buildings typically feature clear heights over 16 feet and office

finishes below 20%.

• Truck Terminal – An industrial facility designed to maximize the efficient transfer of goods from one truck to

another. These facilities are primarily used for staging loads (rather than long-term storage) and possess very little

if any storage area. Buildings typically feature a cross-dock design, are dimensionally long and narrow, have office

finishes below 10%, and a high door-to-square-foot ratio.

• Mixed Industrial Portfolio – For use when a manager reports more than one building (in a park setting or not) as

a single “property” to NCREIF where the majority (>60%) of the building designs are not the same (i.e., a mix of

warehouse, R&D, flex, etc.). If greater than 60% of the rentable area falls into one of the design types above

(warehouse, flex, R&D), report as that design rather than mixed industrial portfolio.

• Other – Specialized Industrial buildings that do not fit the previous classifications.

Subtype

Defined by the Design field:

Manufacturing

Warehouse

General Purpose Warehouse

Distribution

Flex

General Purpose Flex

Research and Development

Office / Showroom

Life Science

Specialized

Refrigerated Storage

Air Cargo

Truck Terminal

Mixed Industrial Portfolio

Other

Subtype Descriptions:

• Manufacturing – An industrial facility specifically designed for the conversion, fabrication, and/or assembly of raw

or partly wrought materials into products/goods. Buildings vary in size, clear heights, and office percentages.

• Warehouse – An industrial facility primarily designed for the storage and/or distribution of materials, goods, and

merchandise. Buildings typically feature clear heights over 18 feet and office finishes below 15%. Includes

specialized distribution buildouts of over 30-foot clear heights and less than 10% office finishes.

• Life Science – An industrial facility specifically designed with base building infrastructure to support usage as a

lab. It further requires lab science lab improvements and or life science tenancy.

• Flex – An industrial facility designed to allow for flexibility of alternative uses of the space. Buildings typically

feature 25-100% office finishes and high curb appeal and parking ratios. Includes specialized buildouts to

accommodate lab space and/or office and retail showroom finishes.

• Specialized – Industrial facilities that accommodate specific uses not described in other Subtypes. Examples

include buildings where the majority of space is used for refrigerated storage, facilities designed for efficient

transfer of goods between trucks or via airplanes, and industrial assets not that do not fit stated classifications

within the property type.

Additional New Fields for Industrial Assets

• Clear Height, enter as a single number and not a range.

o Guidance: Clear height is the distance from the floor to the lowest hanging ceiling member or hanging

objects, beams, joists, or truss work descending to the floor. For buildings that have more than one clear

height or properties with multiple buildings, use the clear height for the majority of the total space.

• Cross Dock, choose Y(es) or N(o).

o Guidance: Defined as a balanced number of existing dock doors on opposite sides of the building. For

properties with multiple buildings, mark Y(es) if the majority of the space is cross-dock. Unless the

property undergoes significant capital expenditures to convert it, the building will not change from Y(es)

to N(o) as the building is re-tenanted. For properties submitted with multiple buildings, if the majority of

the square footage is cross dock, choose Y(es).

OFFICE

Usage Field. For all Office assets, select Medical or Life Science or General. Guidance:

• Medical Office – Office buildings in which 90% or more of the occupied space is leased to medical tenants. Medical

tenants are defined as tenants whose primary business activity in the space is delivery of medical care to patients.

This includes providing diagnosis and treatment for medical, dental, or psychiatric out-patient care. It does not

include medical services that require an over-night stay. Facilities offering over-night or long-term care are not

medical office buildings. Temporary fluctuations in occupied space do not require a property type reclassification.

• Life Science – Single or multiple story office-style buildings that are Life Science Capable, meaning that the building

is configured with enhanced base building infrastructure in order to support usage as a lab facility. This includes

electrical, HVAC, ventilation, and/or plumbing systems that are designed for use within a research or production

laboratory (including GMP facilities). These highly specialized laboratory or research and development buildings

are intended for the use of life science tenants and would be classified as industrial buildings absent the specialized

building infrastructure. Life science tenants encompass a wide range of medical fields, including biotechnology,

pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, life systems technologies, nutraceuticals, and the manufacturing of

biomedical devices.

o In addition to Life Science Capabilities, at least 40% of the space improvements must be built out for life

science lab usage, AND / OR 40% of the space must be leased to life science tenancy. The remainder of

the space should be configured as traditional office space.

o In contrast to medical office where patient visitation is a major use, life science buildings do not generate

patient visits.

• General – Office building NOT otherwise designated as Medical or Life Science.

Zip Code. For all Office assets, enter the Zip Code. If a property consists of more than one building, be sure the property

is submitted with a zip code that represents the location of the majority of the property value.

Subtype

Defined using

Usage

and

Zip Code

Fields

CBD

Usage: General

Zip Code

: CBD assigned if part of the CBD Zip Code List

Urban

Usage: General

Zip Code:

Urban assigned if part of the Urban Zip Code List

Secondary

Business District

Usage: General

Zip Code: SBD assigned if part of the SBD Zip Code List

Suburban

Usage: General

Zip Code: Suburban assigned if part of the Suburban Zip Code List

Medical Office

Usage: Medical

Life Science

Usage: Life Science

Subtype Descriptions

• CBD – Serves as the commercial and business center of a city, typified by a concentration of retail and office. This

area contains office density of 2 to 8 million square feet per mile and has at least 20% of its total square footage

comprised of office space. Includes only office buildings not otherwise designated as Medical or Life Science.

• Urban – Geographic area with high population and/or commercial density but not reaching the office

concentration of a CBD. This area contains total commercial and residential density of 6 to 11 million square feet

per mile. Includes only office buildings not otherwise designated as Medical or Life Science.

• Secondary Business District – Serves as a business center in a suburban location. This area contains office density

greater than 0.5 million square feet per mile and has at least 20% of its total square footage comprised of office

space. Includes only office buildings not otherwise designated as Medical or Life Science.

• Suburban – A lower density residential and/or mixed-use area that does not meet the criteria for CBD, Urban and

Secondary Business Districts. Includes only office buildings not otherwise designated as Medical or Life Science.

• Medical Office – Office buildings in which 90% or more of the occupied space is leased to medical tenants. Medical

tenants are defined as tenants whose primary business activity in the space is delivery of medical care to patients.

This includes providing diagnosis and treatment for medical, dental, or psychiatric out-patient care. It does not

include medical services that require an over-night stay. Facilities offering over-night or long-term care are not

medical office buildings. Temporary fluctuations in occupied space do not require a property type reclassification.

• Life Science – An office building specifically designed with base building infrastructure to support usage as a lab.

It further requires lab science lab improvements and or life science tenancy.

RETAIL

Design Field, for all Retail assets, select Mall, Street, or Strip

• Mall Guidance: A retail center that provides a variety of goods comparable to those of a central business district,

including general merchandise, apparel, and home furnishings, as well as a variety of services and recreational

facilities. Typically, but not always, enclosed with inward facing stores connected by a common walkway and is

over 400,000 SF in size. This category typically consists of regional malls and super-regional malls.

• S

treet Guidance: Storefront retail that is typically located in the lower floors of, or adjacent to an office or multi-

family building. Building typically has no setback or very limited setback from the street and generally has access

to heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic. This subtype should also include standalone retail buildings.

• S

trip Guidance: An anchored or unanchored open-air shopping center that typically consists of an aggregation of

in-line stores with a common parking area. Stores are entered individually from the parking lot through outside

entrances. An anchor tenant (if any) may be a supermarket, discount store, major department store, or a specialty

retailer. The center usually ranges in size from 30,000 to 400,000 SF but can be smaller or larger in some instances.

This category typically consists of unanchored strip retail, neighborhood centers, community centers,

fashion/specialty (lifestyle) centers and power centers.

Subtype

Defined using the Design field:

Mall

Street

Strip

Subtype Descriptions: See Design Field Guidance

Additional New Fields for Retail Assets

• Anchor Square Footage, enter as a whole number.

o Guidance: Provide the total square footage leased to or designated for leasing to anchor and junior anchor

tenants. Numerical format, total GLA in the space of each tenant, typically with at least 15,000 SF of

leased space (include vacant spaces of that size as well). This should include anchor square footage that

is physically located in the center whether it is owned or not owned.

• Usage Field, for each retail asset, select either High-End with Grocer, High-End without Grocer, Not High-End

with Grocer, Not High-End without Grocer

o With / Without Grocer Guidance: Any retail center containing a tenant that sells groceries as its primary

source of revenue and leases a minimum of 10,000 SF, or currently has a vacant box 10,000 SF or larger

that had been occupied by a grocer and has the improvements typical of a grocer. Pharmacies such as

Walgreens, CVS and Rite-Aid would not be considered grocers.

o H

igh-End / Not High-End Guidance: For centers anchored by a grocer, that grocer is a specialty grocer.

For centers not anchored by a grocer, the center that contains a combination of high-end or aspirational

retailers. The following is a list to assist in determining High-End. Note that retailers and grocers are

continually evolving, and it is possible that some local and regional chains may have been overlooked.

Please use this list as a guide and apply your best judgment.

7 For All Mankind Christian Louboutin Hugo Boss Restoration Hardware

Alexa nder McQueen Club Monaco Janie & Jack Roberto Cavalli

Allsaints Coach Ji mmy Choo Saint Laurent

American Girl Cole Haan John Varvatos Saks Fifth Ave

Ann Taylor Crate & Barrel Kate Spade Sephora

Anthropologie Di esel Lacoste Sur La Table

Apple Store Dior Longchamp Tiffany & Co.

Arhaus Dolce & Gabbana Louis Vui tton Tommy Hilfiger

Armani Exchange Empori o Arma ni lululemon Tory Burch

Benetton Ethan Allen Interiors Inc Marc Jacobs Tumi

Bloomingdales Fendi Michael Kors UGG Australia

Brooks Brothers Free Peopl e Movado Uniqlo

Brunello Cucinel Giorgio Armani Neima n Marcus Valentino

Bul gari Gucci Nordstrom Versace

Burberry Gues s Omega West Elm

Calvin Klein Harry Winston Pottery Barn Whi te Hous e Black Market

Cartier Hermes Prada Williams-Sonoma

Chanel Hudson's Bay Ralph Lauren Zara

Balcucci’s Fresh Thyme New Sea sons Trader Joe's

Bri stol Harri s Teeter PCC Natural Markets Vi l l a ge Super Market Inc

Byerly's Ingl es Markets Inc Smart & Final Stores Inc Wegma n's

Dean & DeLuca Lunds SpartanNash Co Weis Ma rkets Inc

Fairway Mariano's Sprouts Whole Foods

Fresh Market Natural Grocers Stew Leonards Wilson Farm

High-End or Aspirational Retailers

Specialty Grocers

Non NPI Property Types

LAND – no subtypes

Note that Land parcels that are income producing should be classified as Operating Land under the Other Property

Type.

SELF-STORAGE – no subtypes

Note that these properties are distinguishable from Industrial-Warehouse in that individual Self-Storage units are

smaller (typically 10x30 or less) and have much shorter lease terms (typically 30 days).

SENIORS HOUSING

Note: Age restricted housing (for example, 55 and up communities) should not be submitted under senior housing but

should be submitted under apartments.

Design Field, for all Seniors Housing assets, select Independent Living; Assisted Living; Continuing Care Retirement

Community; Skilled Nursing. Guidance:

o Independent Living - Properties where independent living units comprise the largest share of inventory

in a seniors housing property. Independent living properties typically include services such as communal

dining, housekeeping, transportation, emergency call, and social programming services in the monthly

fee.

o Assisted Living - Properties where assisted living units and/or memory care units comprise the largest

share of inventory in a seniors housing property. Residents receive personal care services such as

assistance with bathing, dressing, eating, walking, and toileting (activities of daily living—ADLs). Twenty-

four-hour protective oversight is provided, but twenty-four-hour medical care is not.

o Continuing Care Retirement Community - Continuing care retirement communities provide a spectrum

of care to allow aging in place and must include independent units and nursing care beds and often include

assisted living and memory care beds as well. These properties may charge an entrance fee.

o Skilled Nursing - Properties where nursing care beds comprise the largest share of inventory. A skilled

nursing care property is generally a licensed long-term health care and residential property that serves

persons who require constant medical supervision and/or who require significant physical assistance in

transferring, management of continence, and use of medical devices.

Subtype

Defined using the Design field:

Independent Living

Assisted Living

Continuing Care Retirement Community

Skilled Nursing

Subtype Descriptions: See Design Field Guidance

Additional New Field for Seniors Housing Assets

• Leasing, enter Entrance Fee / No Entrance Fee

o Guidance: Select Entrance Fee if an upfront payment is required for residency.

OTHER

Design Field, for all assets that are not classified into and identified Property Type, select one of the following:

o Data Center. Guidance: A building designed for the operation of data servers and related network

equipment. Buildings feature a high and redundant power supply, capable of operation in the event of power grid

failure. Data centers also have significant cooling capacity and fiber optic connectivity. They usually feature raised

floors or drop ceilings to facilitate horizontal data and power distribution. Lease rates may often be designated

in megawatts, rather than square footage.

o O

perating Land. Guidance: These are investments in land where the land is income generating, with certain

qualifications and restrictions as detailed below.

• Generally, assets that qualify will be land with a ground lease and asset owned is the underlying land, but not

of the building on the land.

• It can also include situations where there is no structure on the land, but it is income generating for other

reason.

• This should not include properties that fit the definition of parking.

o Vacant parcels that are unimproved and used for truck parking vehicle storage should be submitted

as operating land if there is a lease agreement that is generating the income.

• It should exclude land leased for agriculture, which should be submitted to the agriculture database.

• If the parcel is part of a larger property where buildings are owned by the investor, then the property should

be reported as a whole under the property type for which the structures are owned.

o For example, if an anchor store in a shopping center is not owned but ground-leased that should be

reported with the broader shopping center as a single retail property.

o If it is just a single retail land parcel without an accompanying shopping center that is ground-leased,

then that should be reported as operating land.

o Entertainment. Guidance: Properties such as theaters, golf courses, and bowling alleys.

o Parking. Guidance: Income-producing parking lots or structures. Income is generated from term parking

agreements (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly). Unimproved properties used only for the storage of vehicles

should not be classified as parking but should be considered operating land.

o O

ther. Guidance: Any other property type not specified in the property type list. Enter the name of the property

type in the OtherType field. Note that properties previously classified as Healthcare should be submitted here, or

in Medical Office or Skilled Nursing as appropriate.

Mixed Use Property Submission Guidance

The NPI does not contain a mixed-use property type or fields to track mixed-use properties. All properties must be

coded to a single property type (e.g., apartment, industrial, etc.) and submitted with the required data fields

(subtypes, physical descriptions, etc.). Below is guidance on how to submit a mixed-use property to the NPI:

If the property in question meets the following three conditions:

1. If the various uses (apartment, retail, office, etc.) within the property can/are intended to be sold

independently from one another;

2. The various uses are valued separately from one another, and;

3. The rent rolls are split

Then submit each use of the subject property to the corresponding type separately. For example, a building with multi-

floor retail on the bottom and office on top that met all three conditions would be submitted as two properties – one

as retail and the other as an office.

If the mixed-use property in question does not meet all three tests, submit the asset as a single property. During the

initial submission, categorize the usage as the property type that represents the majority of the market value of the

property. After the initial submission, the subject asset should not change property types from one quarter to another

due to temporary or small fluctuations in the composition of market values of the various property types. For example,

if the office use of an office/retail mixed use building has a tenant that moves out leaving 75% of the space vacant and

impairs value, do not re-classify the property type to retail.