Calculate rental yield using Iowa market data. Gross yield uses total rent before expenses; net yield subtracts operating costs — the number that actually matters.
Gross rental yield is the simplest comparison metric: annual rent divided by total property cost. It's useful for quick screening but doesn't account for the real cost of ownership.
Net rental yield subtracts operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, vacancy) from income before dividing by cost. This tells you what the property actually earns as a percentage of your investment.
The gap between gross and net reveals your expense ratio — how much of your gross income gets consumed by costs. A tight ratio means more money in your pocket; a wide one means the property is expensive to hold.
Avg Cap Rate
7%
Median Price
$228K
Property Tax
1.25%
Vacancy Rate
8%
Local Factors
Net Rental Yield
2.1%
Gross Rental Yield
6.3%
What does this mean?
A net yield below 3% is typical in high-demand markets where appreciation drives returns more than cash flow. You're betting on the asset growing in value.
Keep running the numbers
Iowa yield is the starting point. Now stress-test it.
Calculate the capitalization rate to evaluate a property's potential return based on its net operating income.
Quickly screen and compare rental properties by how many years of gross income cover the purchase price.
Measure the annual return on your actual cash invested, factoring in financing, expenses, and rental income.
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