Pricing a Multi-Unit

Typically, a 3rd floor walk-up usually goes for less than the 2nd floor. This is due to the limiting the potential tenants due to lifestyle (Someone with a young child might not want to carry a stroller up all the stairs, an elderly pet might not be able to make it up to them or if the potential tenant has limiting physical abilities, they might be weary of carrying groceries/laundry up all the stairs). 

The 3rd floor (which is the penthouse) historically goes for $100 - $200 less than the 2nd floor unit depending on the market. 

If you cannot find direct comps to show the price difference between 2nd and 3rd floor comps with your current filters, I recommend looking at your comps a bit differently. Focus on walk-up buildings and look at the percentage difference of rental prices between the 2nd and 3rd floor.  As this search would focus on the percentage of rent difference between 2nd and 3rd floors, you can remove the filters for # of the beds and baths and elongate the months back to get more results. Again, this is solely to calculate the average percentage difference and NOT used to calculate the actual listing price!

Example:

You find that 123 Main Street is a walk-up building that is similar to your client's building in terms of area and # of stairs to 3rd floor (this may be approximated). 

Open a new window in ConnectMLS and click Search > Street Address and enter the address - 123 Main Street. 

Make sure to update the filters: 

Status - All Active, Pending & Rented 

Months Back - 12 months 

You see that within a 6 month period, 123 Main Street's 2nd floor rented for $2,700 and the 3rd floor rented for $2550. 

Calculation:

$2,550 divided by $2,700 = 0.944444

0.944444 x 100 = 94.44%

Therefore the 3rd floor rents for 5.56% less than the 2nd floor. 

Try to find a minimum of 3 examples to run the numbers and get an average percentage difference between floors and then you can use that to calculate the listing price. Your client will appreciate that you have done your research and not just pulling a number out of thin air.