Calculating rental yield

What is rental yield?

Rental yield is essentially the amount of money you make on an investment property by measuring the gap between your overall costs and the income you receive from renting out your property. 

Understanding how property yield works gives you a better idea of the ongoing return you will earn on your investment. It can also be helpful when it comes time to review the rent on an investment property.

When you know the rental yield of a property, you’re also better placed to understand if it is the right place for your investment goals, or if you could earn a higher rental yield with a different property or by investing in another suburb.

How to calculate rental yield

This is the rent return a property earns before taking any property expenses into account. It’s basically the annual rent you earn as a percentage of the property’s market value.

Calculate gross rental yield

Here’s how to calculate gross rental yield:

1. Sum up your total annual rent that you would charge a tenant
2. Divide your annual rent by the value of the property
3. Multiply that figure by 100 to get the percentage of your gross rental yield

Here’s an example of calculating gross rental yield.

Let’s say, you receive $30,000 each year in rent, and the property is worth $500,000. Your gross rental yield is equal to $30,000 ÷ $500,000 X 100 = 6%.

i.e Annual rent ÷ The value of the property X 100

Calculate net rental yield

To calculate net rental yield accurately will involve some extra number-crunching. Follow these steps:

1. Add up all the fees and expenses of owning the property
2. Sum up the annual rent you will receive from the property 
3. subtract the total expenses from the annual rent 
4. Divide it by the value of the property
5. Multiply by 100

Examples of some of the expenses you might have from your property include:

• Repairs and maintenance
• Strata levies
• Council rates
• Property management and advertising fees
• Insurance
• Depreciation

Do note, interest on your investment loan isn’t usually including when calculating net rental yield. That’s because it relates to your own financial situation – loan interest isn’t directly related to the cost the property generates.

An example of how to calculate net rental yield

Let’s say, you receive $30,000 each year in rent. You pay $10,000 each year in property-related expenses, and the property is worth $500,000.

Your net rental yield is equal to ($30,000 - $10,000) ÷ $500,000 ÷ X 100 = 4%

i.e (Annual rent - costs of owning your property) ÷ The value of the property X 100.

What is a good rental yield?

The answer to what is a good rental yield depends on where you plan to buy.

In metropolitan areas, especially state capitals, gross rental yields typically range from 3-5% [1]. In regional areas, gross rental yield can be 5%-plus.