What will a distressed Dubai property actually return?
Rental yield, cash-on-cash, the equity you gain the day you buy below market, and your all-in annual return — cash or mortgage, with real Dubai fees and taxes built in. No sign-up, nothing saved.
The property
How you are paying
Sensible Dubai defaults are filled in. Change any that you know.
Cash-on-cash return
0.3%
AED 73/mo cash flow on AED 266,050 invested
Day-one equity
AED 150K
13.6% below market — 56% of your cash, captured on day one
Gross yield
7.9%
Net yield
5.4%
IRR · 5yr
9.3%
Cash needed on day one
AED 266,050
Deposit + fees
AED 190,000 + AED 76,050
Estimates only, based on the figures and assumptions you enter — not investment advice or a substitute for a RERA-licensed appraisal. Dubai charges no annual property or capital-gains tax; residential rent is VAT-exempt. The 5% municipality housing fee is normally paid by the tenant, so it is not counted against your return.
What each number means
Five ways to read a deal — from the quick headline to the full picture.
Gross yield
Annual rent as a share of the price. The quick headline number — but it ignores every cost, so it always flatters the deal.
Net yield
Rent after the service charge, management, maintenance and a vacancy allowance. This is the real rental return the property throws off, before any mortgage.
Cash-on-cash
The spare cash you actually pocket each year, against the cash you actually put in — deposit plus fees. With a mortgage this is often the number that matters most.
Day-one equity
Buy below what the unit is really worth and you own that gap the moment you complete. It is the whole point of buying distressed — and with a mortgage your deposit controls the entire gap.
IRR
Your all-in annual return over the years you hold, including the sale — the one figure that folds rent, the day-one discount, loan paydown and any price growth into a single percentage.
The Dubai costs it builds in
Buying: the 4% DLD transfer fee, registration and trustee fees (about AED 4,200), title deed and admin (AED 580), and a 2% agent commission on a resale. With a mortgage it adds the bank arrangement fee, the valuation, and the 0.25% mortgage registration.
Every year: the service charge you enter, plus property management, maintenance and a vacancy allowance you can change.
Tax: Dubai has no annual property tax and no capital-gains tax, and residential rent is exempt from VAT — so a landlord's rent is essentially tax-free. The 5% municipality housing fee is normally the tenant's, so it is not charged against your return.
Every figure is sourced and defaults to a sensible Dubai value you can override. It is an estimate to compare deals, not a RERA-licensed appraisal.
Questions, answered
How does this Dubai ROI calculator work?+
You enter the purchase price, the annual rent and the service charge. The calculator applies the real Dubai buying costs and, if you choose a mortgage, the loan maths — then shows your gross yield, net yield, cash-on-cash return, day-one equity and IRR. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is saved.
What costs are built in?+
The one-time buying costs: the 4% DLD transfer fee, the registration/trustee fee (about AED 4,200), the title deed and admin (AED 580), and a 2% agent commission on a resale. For a mortgage it also adds the bank arrangement fee, the valuation fee and the 0.25% mortgage registration. Each year it deducts the service charge, property management, maintenance and a vacancy allowance.
Does Dubai charge property tax or capital-gains tax?+
No. Dubai has no annual property tax and no capital-gains tax, and residential rent is exempt from VAT. The 5% municipality housing fee is normally paid by the tenant, not the landlord, so it is not counted against your return.
Who pays the agent commission and the developer NOC fee?+
On a resale the buyer typically pays the 2% agent commission (plus 5% VAT); it is nil on an off-plan or direct purchase, so you can set it to zero. The developer NOC fee is the seller's cost, so it is left out of the buyer's return entirely.
How much deposit do I need for a Dubai mortgage?+
For an expatriate buying a first home priced at AED 5 million or less, the UAE Central Bank caps the loan at 80% of the price — so roughly a 20% deposit. Above AED 5 million, for a second property, or for off-plan, the required deposit is higher.
What is the difference between rental yield and cash-on-cash return?+
Yield measures the rent against the property's price. Cash-on-cash measures the spare cash you actually keep against the cash you actually invested — the deposit plus all the fees. With a mortgage the two can look very different, because the loan payment comes out of the cash you keep.
What is day-one equity?+
It is the gap between what a property is really worth and what you pay for it. Buy below market and you own that difference the moment you complete. With a mortgage your deposit controls the whole property, so the discount is a large share of the cash you put in.
Is this investment advice?+
No. It is an estimate based only on the figures and assumptions you enter, to help you compare deals. It is not investment advice and not a substitute for a RERA-licensed appraisal.
Now find a deal worth running the numbers on
Browse below-market and distressed listings across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, or ask our team for a human valuation.