Last updated: July 2026
What's the
Rental Yield?
Enter a property's price, rent, and running costs to see gross and net rental yield before you make an offer.
Gross vs Net Yield
Gross yield
Annual rent divided by purchase price — the quick, unfiltered comparison figure.
Net yield
Annual rent minus running costs, divided by purchase price — a more realistic return figure.
Excludes financing
Neither figure includes mortgage interest — that's a financing decision, not a property cost.
Yield vs growth trade-off
Higher-yield areas often trade off against lower expected capital growth, and vice versa.
Financing an Investment Property?
Finch structures investment lending across 20+ NZ lenders, factoring in DTI caps and rental income shading specific to each bank.
Get Pre-Approved Free →How to Read Rental Yield on an NZ Investment Property
Rental yield measures the annual rental income a property generates as a percentage of its purchase price. It's the fastest way to compare the income potential of different properties before you factor in capital growth, tax, or how the purchase is financed. In New Zealand, gross yields vary significantly by region and property type — inner-city apartments in expensive main centres often yield 3-4%, while more affordable regional properties can yield 6% or more.
Gross Yield vs Net Yield
Gross yield is the simplest calculation: annual rent divided by purchase price. It's useful for quickly comparing properties but ignores the real costs of owning a rental. Net yield subtracts rates, insurance, maintenance, body corporate fees (if applicable), and property management fees before dividing by purchase price — giving a more honest picture of the actual return the property delivers before financing and tax.
Why Mortgage Interest Isn't Included
Rental yield is a property-level metric — it measures what the asset itself produces, independent of how you choose to finance it. Two investors buying the identical property with different deposit sizes and different loan structures will have very different cashflow outcomes, but the property's underlying yield is the same for both. Once you know the yield, your Finch adviser can model your specific cashflow after financing, based on your actual loan structure and rate.
The Yield vs Capital Growth Trade-Off
Higher-yield properties and higher-growth properties are often, though not always, different properties. Provincial and regional NZ markets frequently offer stronger rental yields relative to purchase price, while established main-centre suburbs have historically delivered stronger long-run capital growth at the cost of a lower starting yield. Neither approach is inherently better — it depends on whether your investment strategy prioritises cashflow today or equity growth over time, and how that fits your income structure and DTI position.
How Yield Affects Your Borrowing Capacity
NZ lenders typically "shade" rental income — counting only 70-80% of the gross rent — when assessing serviceability for an investment loan, to build in a buffer for vacancy and running costs. A higher-yielding property therefore supports a larger loan under the same lender's serviceability test than a lower-yielding one at the same price. Check your DTI ratio alongside yield before making an offer, since both caps apply together.