Anticipation
National Real Estate Exam glossary · Valuation
Definition
The valuation principle holding that value is created by the expectation of future benefits, not by past cost. A buyer pays today for the income, use, or appreciation a property is expected to deliver tomorrow; it is the conceptual foundation of the income approach.
Anticipation in plain English
Anticipation is the idea that a property's value comes from what people expect it to give them in the FUTURE, not from what it cost in the past. Nobody pays extra for a house just because it was expensive to build years ago — they pay for the rent, enjoyment, or price gains they think it will deliver going forward. Picture buying tickets to a band that's about to blow up: you're paying today for the great show you expect tomorrow, not for what the tickets cost to print. This forward-looking logic is the whole backbone of the income approach to valuing property, where worth is tied to the earnings it's expected to produce.
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