Free · Australian Investment Properties
Calculate gross and net rental yield on any Australian investment property. Account for management fees, maintenance, insurance, and council rates to see your real return — and whether you're positively or negatively geared.
Gross yield
4.51%
GoodNet yield
3.19%
Average$33,800
Annual rent
$9,904
Total expenses
$23,896
Net annual income
$1,991
Monthly cash flow
Expense breakdown
Gross yield = (annual rent ÷ property value) × 100. Net yield deducts annual operating expenses. Does not include depreciation, capital gains, land tax, or mortgage costs. Not financial advice.
Enter property value, weekly rent, and annual expenses to calculate gross rental yield, net rental yield, and your yearly cashflow position. Use this alongside the mortgage calculator and stamp duty calculator for a full investment analysis.
If you are still comparing locations, shortlist opportunities first with the NSW suburb scorecard before modelling yield and financing.
There are two forms of rental yield: gross rental yield and net rental yield. Gross yield is a quick reference metric that ignores expenses. Net yield accounts for all costs of ownership and gives you a more accurate picture of your real return — because expenses do not always scale proportionally with rent, two properties with identical gross yields can produce very different net returns.
Gross rental yield is simply your annual rental income divided by the property value, expressed as a percentage. It is quick to calculate and useful for comparing properties at a glance, but it does not reflect vacancy or any ownership costs.
Formula
Gross Yield = (Annual Rent ÷ Property Value) × 100
Worked example
You are considering a house in Western Sydney listed at $750,000. The comparable rent for the street is $550 per week.
A gross yield of 3.81% is below the 4.5–5% threshold many investors target, but it says nothing about expenses. You need net yield to make a fair comparison.
Net rental yield adjusts for vacancy and deducts all annual ownership costs before dividing by property value. This gives you a more accurate like-for-like comparison between different properties. Note that mortgage repayments and interest are not usually included — they relate to your financing structure, not the property itself — though you can include them if you want to see after-debt return.
You need four inputs: annual rent, property value, vacancy rate, and annual expenses. The vacancy rate is the percentage of time you expect the property to be untenanted (e.g. 2 weeks per year ÷ 52 weeks = 3.85%). Annual expenses typically include property management fees, maintenance, landlord insurance, council rates, and water rates.
Formula
Net Yield = ((Annual Rent × (1 − Vacancy Rate)) − Annual Expenses) ÷ Property Value × 100
Multiplying by (1 − Vacancy Rate) reduces your income by the proportion of the year the property is expected to sit empty.
Worked example (continuing from above)
Same $750,000 property at $550/week. You estimate the property will be vacant for roughly 1 week per year between tenancies, and your annual expenses break down as follows:
Net yield of 2.54% compared to gross yield of 3.81% — a gap of 1.27 percentage points, purely from expenses and vacancy. This is why comparing properties on gross yield alone can be misleading if one has significantly higher ownership costs.
Gross yield
Annual Rent ÷ Property Value × 100
✓ Fast to calculate
✓ Good for quick comparison
✗ Ignores all expenses
✗ Can be misleading between markets
Net yield
(Income after vacancy − Expenses) ÷ Property Value × 100
✓ Reflects real ownership cost
✓ Better for comparing unlike properties
✗ Requires expense estimates
✗ Varies by management and maintenance style
Gross rental yield = (annual rent ÷ property value) × 100. Net rental yield deducts all operating expenses — property management fees, maintenance, insurance, council rates, and water — giving you the real return before financing costs.
A gross yield of 4.5–6% is considered good for most Australian markets. Regional NSW and QLD markets often achieve 5–8%, while premium Sydney suburbs may yield 2–3.5%. Net yield is typically 1–2% lower than gross once expenses are factored in.
A positively geared property generates more rental income than its total expenses, creating a cash surplus. A negatively geared property costs more to hold than it earns — investors typically rely on capital growth and tax deductions (negative gearing) to justify the shortfall.
Key annual expenses include: property management fees (7–10% of rent), maintenance and repairs ($1,500–$5,000), landlord insurance ($1,000–$2,000), council rates ($1,500–$2,500), and water rates ($600–$1,200). Mortgage interest is not included in yield but affects cash flow.
Vacancy directly reduces your effective annual rent. A 4-week vacancy on a $550/week property costs $2,200 per year, dropping gross yield by roughly 0.3% on a $750,000 property. Most property managers quote vacancy rates of 2–4% in capital cities. When modelling net yield, assume at least 2 weeks vacancy per year as a conservative baseline — more in regional or oversupplied markets.
It depends on your investment strategy and cash flow position. High-yield properties (regional areas, 5–8% gross) generate stronger cash flow but often have lower capital growth. High-growth properties (inner-city, 2–4% gross) may cost you money each week but deliver stronger long-term wealth through appreciation. Most successful Australian investors balance both — using high-yield properties to support the holding costs of high-growth assets in their portfolio.