Rental yield calculator for Australian investment property
Gross yield on purchase price, on total acquisition cost and on current value, and net yield from net operating income, with every input shown. Every line is shown so you can check it against your own numbers. No signup; calculations run in your browser and shareable links contain your scenario figures.
Current equity & capital growth
Growth compares current market value with the purchase price, excluding purchase costs, selling costs and tax. It is cumulative, not annualised.
- Current market value
- $750,000
- Current loan balance
- $600,000
- Current equity ($)Current market value minus current loan balance. Can be negative.
- $150,000
- Capital Growth vs Purchase ($)
- $0.00
- Capital Growth vs Purchase (%)Change in market value divided by purchase price.
- 0.00%
Cash you need at settlement
Purchase costs are assumed paid in cash, not borrowed.
- Purchase price
- $750,000
- Transfer duty (NSW)
- $27,937
- Other purchase costs
- $5,300
- Total cost of the property
- $783,237
- Less loan
- − $600,000
- Cash required
- $183,237
- Deposit aloneYour deposit is the equity in the property. The cash required also covers duty and fees.
- $150,000
- LVR
- 80.00%
Income
- Gross annual rent (52 weeks)
- $33,800
- Less vacancy2 weeks per year
- − $1,300
- Rent collected
- $32,500
- Total income
- $32,500
Operating costs
What the property costs to run, before any loan repayment.
- Council rates
- $2,200
- Water rates
- $1,100
- Landlord insurance
- $1,400
- Management fee7.7% of rent collected
- $2,503
- Letting fee1 week(s) of rent, once a year
- $650
- Repairs & maintenance
- $2,000
- Total operating costs
- $9,853
Net operating income
Income less operating costs, before any loan. This is the earning power of the property itself — it is the same whoever buys it, which is what makes yields comparable between listings.
- Total income
- $32,500
- Less operating costs
- − $9,853
- Net operating income
- $22,648
Loan repayments, year 1
- Repayment type
- Principal & interest
- Interest
- $37,001
- PrincipalCash out the door, but it becomes equity rather than being spent.
- $7,097
- Total repayments
- $44,098
Cashflow
Net operating income less total loan repayments.
- Net operating income
- $22,648
- Less loan repayments
- − $44,098
- Annual
- −$21,450.22
- Monthly
- −$1,787.52
- Weekly
- −$412.50
- Cash-on-cash returnFirst-year cashflow against the cash you put in.
- -11.71%
Yields
Gross yields use asking rent; net yields use net operating income. All yields exclude loan repayments.
- Gross yield on priceThe figure quoted in listings — 52 weeks of asking rent, no vacancy allowance.
- 4.51%
- Gross yield on current value52 weeks of asking rent divided by current market value, before vacancy and expenses.
- 4.51%
- Gross yield on total costAgainst what you actually outlaid, including duty and fees.
- 4.32%
- Net yield on price
- 3.02%
- Net yield on total cost
- 2.89%
Break-even
- Rent to break evenCovers operating costs and full principal & interest repayments.
- $1,125.09 / week
- Rent to cover interest onlyExcludes principal, on the view that principal is equity rather than a cost.
- $967.90 / week
- Interest rate to break evenThe rate at which cashflow reaches zero, all else held constant.
- 0.84%
How rental yield is calculated
Rental yield expresses a property’s rent as a percentage of its value, so that a $500,000 unit and a $1,500,000 house can be compared on the same footing. The calculator reports four yields, each answering a slightly different question, and shows every input that feeds them.
- Gross yield on purchase price = weekly rent × 52 ÷ purchase price. Asking rent, no vacancy allowance, because that is how listings and agents quote it.
- Gross yield on total acquisition cost = weekly rent × 52 ÷ (price + stamp duty + fees). Always lower; duty and fees are capital you actually outlaid.
- Net yield on purchase price = net operating income ÷ purchase price, where net operating income is rent actually collected (after vacancy) plus other income, less all operating expenses. Loan repayments are not deducted.
- Gross yield on current value = weekly rent × 52 ÷ today’s market value. For a property you already own, this shows what the rent is worth against what the asset is worth now.
Worked example: $750,000 purchase renting at $650 a week
These are the calculator’s starting figures, for NSW, with 2 weeks’ vacancy, a 7.7% management fee, 1 week’s letting fee and the listed operating costs.
| Gross annual rent (52 weeks) | $33,800 | $650 × 52 |
|---|---|---|
| Gross yield on price | 4.51% | $33,800 ÷ $750,000 |
| Total acquisition cost | $783,237 | price + duty + purchase costs |
| Gross yield on total cost | 4.32% | $33,800 ÷ $783,237 |
| Rent collected after vacancy | $32,500 | $650 × 50 |
| Operating expenses | $9,852.50 | rates, water, insurance, management, letting, repairs |
| Net operating income | $22,647.50 | $32,500 − $9,852.50 |
| Net yield on price | 3.02% | $22,647.50 ÷ $750,000 |
Gross and net yield differ by about 1.49 percentage points here. That gap is the running cost of owning the property, before any loan.
Yield describes the property, not your loan
Net operating income deliberately excludes interest and principal. Two buyers with different deposits and interest rates get the same yields on the same property, which is what makes yield comparable between listings. What the loan does to your position is cashflow, reported separately on the same page. Conflating the two is the most common error in investor spreadsheets.
What counts as an operating expense
Council rates, water rates, strata administrative and sinking funds, landlord insurance, land tax, the management fee (charged on rent collected), the letting fee (weeks of rent, once a year), repairs and maintenance, and anything else recurring. Capital improvements and loan costs are not operating expenses. Land tax is entered by you because it depends on all the land you hold in the state.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for gross rental yield?
Annual rent divided by property value, times 100. For a residential property the calculator uses weekly asking rent × 52 as annual rent and the purchase price as the value, so $650 a week on $750,000 is 4.51%.
What is the difference between gross and net rental yield?
Gross yield uses the full asking rent. Net yield first deducts vacancy and every operating expense, giving net operating income, and divides that by the price. Net yield is the better guide to what the property earns; gross yield is the number you can compare with listings.
Does rental yield include the mortgage?
No. Yield is a property measure and excludes finance entirely. Cashflow, which the calculator shows alongside yield, is net operating income less loan repayments.
Should I calculate yield on the purchase price or the current value?
Both are shown. Yield on purchase price tells you what you bought; yield on current value tells you what the rent is worth against the asset today. If the value has grown while rent stayed flat, the current-value yield falls even though nothing about the cashflow changed. See yield on purchase price versus current value.
Is a higher yield always better?
Yield is one measure. It says nothing about capital growth, land tax, the loan, or the condition of the building, and a high gross yield can still be cashflow-negative once repayments are counted. Read it with the cashflow and break-even figures, and treat none of them as advice. See why positive yield can still mean negative cashflow.
Does stamp duty change the yield?
Not the headline gross yield on price, which ignores acquisition costs. The yield on total acquisition cost does include stamp duty and fees, and is lower by roughly the share those costs add to the price. Duty is calculated for every state on the stamp duty pages.