Quick Answer: Gross Potential Rent (GPR) is the maximum rent a property could collect if every unit were occupied at market rates with no concessions or losses. Effective Gross Income (EGI) is the actual revenue the property generates after subtracting vacancy, concessions, and bad debt, then adding other income. The difference between GPR and EGI reveals exactly how much revenue is lost — and where.
See our full guides: Gross Potential Rent and Effective Gross Income.
What Is Gross Potential Rent?
Gross Potential Rent is the theoretical maximum rental income — every unit occupied at current market rent for the full year. It represents the revenue ceiling before any real-world losses.
Example: 200 units × $1,750/mo × 12 = $4,200,000 GPR
What Is Effective Gross Income?
Effective Gross Income is the actual revenue a property earns. It starts with GPR, subtracts vacancy loss, concessions, bad debt, and loss to lease, then adds other income sources like parking, pet fees, and utility reimbursements.
Example: $4,200,000 − $231,000 − $42,000 − $25,000 − $168,000 + $180,000 = $3,914,000
Key Differences: GPR vs EGI
| Factor | Gross Potential Rent | Effective Gross Income |
|---|---|---|
| What it represents | Theoretical maximum rent | Actual revenue collected |
| Vacancy impact | Not reflected | Deducted |
| Concessions | Not reflected | Deducted |
| Other income | Not included | Added |
| Used in NOI calculation | Starting point only | Direct input (EGI − OpEx = NOI) |
| Achievability | Never fully achieved | Real, actual revenue |
When to Use Each Metric
Use GPR when: Setting the revenue baseline for budgeting, calculating loss to lease, benchmarking market rent growth, or establishing the starting point for a top-down revenue waterfall analysis.
Use EGI when: Calculating NOI, underwriting acquisitions, projecting actual revenue, and evaluating property performance. EGI is the true top-line revenue figure that flows into every meaningful financial calculation.
How They Relate in Practice
The gap between GPR and EGI is a revenue waterfall that breaks down every dollar of leakage. For the example above, the $286,000 gap decomposes into vacancy ($231K), concessions ($42K), bad debt ($25K), and loss to lease ($168K) — partially offset by $180K in other income.
Tracking each component of this waterfall separately is how operators identify the highest-impact levers. A property losing $168K to loss to lease needs a rent optimization strategy. A property losing $42K to concessions may be over-incentivizing. Each line item tells a different operational story and requires a different response. See how BubbleGum BI's financial dashboards automatically calculate GPR, EGI, and every revenue leakage component across your portfolio.
Break Down Your GPR-to-EGI Waterfall
BubbleGum BI automatically calculates GPR, EGI, and every revenue leakage component across your portfolio so you can see exactly where dollars are lost.
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