Gross yield is your annual rent as a percentage of the property value. Net yield takes your running costs out first, so it is the number that actually lands in your pocket.
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Gross vs Net
Rental yield is the annual rent on a property as a percentage of what the property is worth. It is the quickest way to compare one investment against another, because it strips price out of the picture and leaves you with return.
Gross yield is the headline figure. Annual rent divided by property value. It is useful for a fast comparison, but it ignores what it costs to own the place.
Net yield takes your real running costs out first, the management fee, rates, insurance, strata and maintenance, so it reflects what genuinely lands in your account. It is always lower than the gross figure, and it is the honest one.
The calculator above gives you both. If you are only entering the value and the rent, you are looking at gross. Add your costs and it works out the net.
What Counts as a Good Yield
There is no single right answer, but here is how to make sense of the figure the calculator gives you.
Yield Is Only Half the Story
A high yield with no capital growth, and a low yield in a suburb that is climbing, can end up in very different places over ten years. Yield is the income side. Growth is the other half, and the best investments balance the two.
It Varies by Suburb and Type
Units and villas usually show a higher yield than houses, and outer suburbs higher than blue chip ones. That does not automatically make them better buys. It reflects where the market prices income against growth.
Compare Net, Not Gross
When you are weighing up two properties, compare their net yields. A property with a higher rent but higher strata and rates can easily return less than a plainer one with lower costs. Gross hides that.
Costs Move the Number More Than You Think
Strata levies, an older property that needs work, or a long vacancy between tenants all pull the net yield down fast. Building realistic costs in now saves a nasty surprise at tax time.
An Empty Property Yields Nothing
The calculator assumes the place is tenanted every week of the year. In the real world, weeks of vacancy wipe out yield quickly, which is why the right rent and a fast lease matter more than chasing the top dollar.
Use It as a Starting Point
This is a guide, not financial advice. For a real weekly rent figure backed by comparable leased properties, and a view on what your property would actually achieve, book a free rental appraisal with Linda.
Rental Yield Questions
Gross rental yield is the weekly rent multiplied by 52, divided by the property value, times 100. So a property worth $550,000 renting at $600 a week has a gross yield of about 5.7 percent. Net yield does the same sum but subtracts your annual running costs from the rent first, which gives you a lower and more honest figure.
Gross yield ignores the cost of owning the property. Net yield takes out the management fee, council and water rates, insurance, strata levies and maintenance before doing the sum. Net is always lower, and it is the number that reflects what you actually earn after the bills are paid.
It depends on the suburb and the property type, and it moves with the market, so we will not quote you a magic number. As a rule, units and outer-suburb properties show higher yields than houses in established areas, because the market is pricing income against future growth. The right question is not just the yield, it is the balance of income and capital growth for your goals.
Not on its own. A high yield can signal strong income, but it can also signal a suburb the market does not expect to grow much. A lower-yielding property in a rising area can outperform it over time. Yield is one input into the decision, not the whole decision.
Two levers move it: the rent and the costs. Setting the right market rent, keeping vacancy short, and doing worthwhile improvements lift the income side. Reviewing your management fee, insurance and maintenance keeps the cost side in check. A good property manager works on both.
Use the calculator for a quick estimate, then book a free rental appraisal. Linda will look at what genuinely comparable properties have recently leased for, factor in your property’s features and condition, and give you a realistic weekly figure rather than a hopeful one.
