Rental Yield Calculator Australia

How rental yield works

Rental yield tells you the annual return a property produces as a percentage of its value. It is the number investors use to compare one property against another quickly, before looking at capital growth or tax. There are two versions. Gross yield uses only the rent and the property value. Net yield takes your running costs out first, so it shows what the property returns after the bills are paid.

Gross vs net rental yield

To find gross yield, take the annual rent and divide it by the property value, then multiply by 100. A property worth $600,000 renting at $500 a week collects $26,000 over the year, so the gross yield is $26,000 ÷ $600,000 × 100 = 4.33%. Net yield subtracts your annual expenses first. If the same property costs $6,000 a year to hold, the net income is $20,000 and the net yield is $20,000 ÷ $600,000 × 100 = 3.33%. Net yield is the more honest figure because it reflects the money you keep, not the money that lands before costs.

What counts as an expense

When you itemise, the calculator adds up council rates, insurance, maintenance and repairs, strata or body corporate fees, property management (as a percentage of rent) and a vacancy allowance in weeks. It does not include your mortgage. Yield measures the return on the property itself, so loan repayments sit outside it. If you want the loan in the picture, add the interest as an expense here, or run the numbers through the negative gearing calculator.

What is a good rental yield?

Most Australian investors treat a gross yield around 5% or higher as a healthy residential return, with many aiming for the 5.5% to 6.5% range. Regional properties often yield more, while expensive capital-city suburbs yield less because buyers there are paying for capital growth. A very high yield, say 7% or above, is worth a second look, since it can signal a market with weaker long-term growth or higher risk.

Using this as an investment property calculator

Yield is where any investment property decision starts, because it is the one figure that lets you line up very different properties on the same scale before you weigh up growth, tax and cash flow. Use this as your first-pass investment property calculator: enter the value, the rent and your holding costs to see the gross and net return, then compare a $500,000 regional house at 5.9% against a $750,000 capital- city unit at 4.3% on equal terms. Once you have the yield, run the loan through a mortgage repayment calculator and the tax side through the negative gearing calculator to complete the picture.

Quick rental yield reference

Frequently asked questions