Calculate the full acquisition cost for any Dubai property purchase. Government fees are included automatically — no manual lookup needed.
Transaction Type
PROAuto-included government fees
Trustee fee includes 5% VAT. Broker commission + 5% VAT.
Standard rate in Dubai is 2% of purchase price.
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Whether you're a licensed Dubai real estate broker presenting a deal to a client, or an investor evaluating a buy-to-let property, this ROI calculator gives you the numbers that matter — gross yield, net yield, effective income, and long-term capital gain — in seconds. Built specifically for Dubai market with local fees and conventions baked in.
Purchase Price
The total price paid for the property. This is used as the base for all yield calculations. Note: this does not include DLD fees or other acquisition costs — use the Total Cost calculator for the full picture.
Annual Rent Income
The total rent collected from the tenant over a full year, assuming full occupancy. In Dubai this is typically paid in post-dated cheques — 1 to 4 cheques per year. This figure is the starting point for gross yield.
Annual Service Charge
The maintenance and facilities fee paid by the owner to the building management each year. In Dubai it is calculated per square foot — typically AED 10–25/sqft depending on the building. You can look up official rates on the Dubai Land Department Service Charge Index. Enter your area and rate to auto-calculate, or type the total directly.
Additional Annual Costs
All other recurring expenses for maintaining the property in rentable condition. This includes cleaning between tenancies, minor repairs, repainting walls, replacing appliances or fixtures, and any other upkeep costs the owner bears directly. In Dubai these typically run AED 5,000–20,000 per year depending on property age, size, and tenant turnover. Unlike service charge, these costs are unpredictable — using a conservative estimate gives a more realistic picture of net income.
Vacancy Rate
The percentage of the year the property sits empty without a tenant. Even well-managed properties have gaps between tenancies for cleaning, minor repairs, or re-leasing. A vacancy rate of 5% means the property is empty roughly 18 days per year. Dubai average is typically 5–10% depending on area and demand. This directly reduces your effective income.
Annual Appreciation
How much the property value is expected to grow each year, expressed as a percentage. This is the capital growth component of your return — separate from rental income. Dubai has historically delivered 5–8% annual appreciation in established areas like Marina, Downtown, and Palm Jumeirah. This figure is used to calculate the Projected Property Value and Capital Gain at the end of your holding period.
Holding Period
How many years you plan to hold the property before selling. Used to project total rental income over the period and the final resale value based on your appreciation rate. Common holding periods in Dubai are 3–7 years for investors looking to sell off-plan completions or time the market cycle.
Average annual price appreciation in Dubai by area
Indicative figures based on historical market data 2020–2024. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Gross Yield
Annual rent divided by purchase price. The headline number quoted in listings and marketing materials. Does not account for any costs or vacancies — useful for quick comparison between properties.
Net Yield (after vacancy)
Gross yield adjusted for the time the property sits empty. More realistic than gross yield — this is what a careful investor should present to a client as the expected rental return.
Net Yield (after service charge)
The truest measure of rental return — income after both vacancy and annual maintenance costs. This is the yield that actually lands in the owner's pocket each year.
Effective Annual Income
The actual cash collected per year after adjusting for vacancy — before deducting service charge. This is the real rent you can expect to receive in a typical year.
Total Service Charge Paid
The cumulative maintenance fees paid to building management over the entire holding period. An important cost that investors often underestimate — on a 5-year hold it can easily reach AED 100,000+.
Total Additional Costs
The cumulative maintenance and upkeep expenses paid over the full holding period — cleaning, repairs, painting, appliance replacements. Together with service charge, this shows the true cost of ownership that reduces your net rental income.
Projected Property Value
The estimated resale value at the end of your holding period, based on compound annual appreciation. This is what the property could be worth when you sell — not guaranteed, but useful for scenario planning.
Total Rental Income
Total net rental income collected over the full holding period — after vacancy and service charge deductions. This is the cumulative cash flow from renting the property before any other expenses like mortgage payments.
Capital Gain
The profit from price appreciation alone — the difference between projected resale value and the original purchase price. In Dubai there is no capital gains tax, so this is the full profit from price growth. Combined with total rental income, it gives the complete picture of total investment return.
Total Return
Total Rental Income + Capital Gain — the single most important number. Everything earned from the investment over the holding period: cash from rent plus profit from resale. This is what you present to a client as the complete return on their money.
Total ROI (full period)
Total Return as a percentage of the purchase price over the entire holding period. For example, a 5-year Total ROI of 65% means every AED invested grew to AED 1.65. Useful for comparing different properties regardless of holding period length.
Annualised ROI
The equivalent yearly return if the total gain were spread evenly across the holding period using compound growth. This is the metric professional investors use to compare real estate against stocks, bonds, or other asset classes on an apples-to-apples basis. A 65% total ROI over 5 years equals roughly 10.5% annualised ROI — very different from simply dividing 65% by 5.
Payback Period
How many years it takes to recover the full purchase price when combining net rental income and property appreciation. Each year the calculator adds cumulative rental income to the capital gain from price growth — the payback period is the first year that total exceeds the original purchase price. This is a more realistic metric than rent-only payback, as Dubai investors typically rely on both income and appreciation to generate returns. The lower the number, the faster the investment pays for itself.
ROI — Return on Investment — measures how much you earn relative to what you invested. In real estate it has two components: rental income (cash you collect from tenants each year) and capital appreciation (the increase in the property's value over time). A strong investment delivers both.
In Dubai, ROI is most commonly quoted as gross yield — annual rent divided by purchase price. But gross yield ignores vacancy, service charges, maintenance costs, and the time value of your capital. This calculator shows you all three levels: gross, net after vacancy, and net after all costs — so you see the real number, not the marketing number.
ROI Formula
Gross Yield
Net Yield
Total ROI (full period)
Gross Yield is used for quick comparisons. Net Yield shows real cash flow. Total ROI is the complete picture over your holding period — the number that matters most for investment decisions.
In Dubai there is no capital gains tax and no income tax on rental income, which means your ROI is your actual return — unlike most other markets where taxes significantly reduce the numbers.
Most generic ROI calculators ignore the specifics of Dubai market — service charge structures, vacancy patterns, and the compound appreciation that Dubai properties have historically delivered. BrokerTools is built from the ground up for Dubai brokers and investors, with AED-denominated inputs and outputs you can share directly with clients via WhatsApp.
Use this calculator alongside the ROI Calculator (which adds DLD 4%, trustee fees, and commission) to give clients the complete financial picture of any Dubai property investment.