Understanding different building areas can be a difficult but fundamental component of the real estate and development business. It is undoubtedly very complicated. Gross Building Area is also known as Gross construction area by some people. This term is referred to as the total building area. It is measured outside the walls without any deductions, as you will get to know later that some area definitions are there for allowing certain assumptions. Gross Building area is essential because of being the big driver of your costs- mainly the construction costs. At the same time, even though it is necessary, it does not drive the revenue that comes later.
GBA or Gross Building area is a measurement unit used in commercial property valuations. This measurement is entirely different from the other type of residential real estate that generally uses Gross Living Area GLA.
GBA mainly includes the entire area of the building and the total of all the floors. This is also determined by the slab area, which is measured to the surface area of the exterior walls, which excludes the elevator shaft of the opening.
There are several reasons behind commercial property using a different unit of measurement in that areas of the property which are not heated or cooled and may still be in use in the property—That is why Gross Building Area takes into account the total of the building area. However, the GBA evaluation generally does not include the below-ground space as a part of the square footage equation and does not include the space of the appraisal valuation.
In real estate, GBA is calculated by measuring the outside finished surface of the permanent outer building walls and that too without any deductions for features, for example, walkways, common areas, shared spaces, and stairwells along with the non-leasable areas or unusable areas. This calculation is generally done for the larger commercial spaces with an increasing number of square footages. That is why GBA, to put it simply, is just one of many units of the measurement of commercial property.
Keeping track of the commercial property market can be very complex, mainly when there are so many different terms for every industry-specific vocabulary. That is why working with a trusted real estate professional specializing in this commercial property is essential. And they can talk through all the conditions you need to know and help you from beginning till end.
