Capital Growth vs Yield Calculator NZ

This calculator splits a New Zealand rental property's total return into its two components, rental yield and capital growth, so you can see clearly where your return actually comes from. Property investors talk about yield and growth as if they were rivals, and understanding the split is central to a sound strategy. Yield is the income return, the net rent the property earns as a percentage of its value, and it is the cash that lands in your account each year. Capital growth is the increase in the property's value over time, which builds wealth but only turns into cash when you sell or refinance. Together they make up the total return. Historically, much of the return from New Zealand residential property has come from capital growth rather than yield, which is why low-yielding city properties have still rewarded long-term owners, while higher-yielding regional properties deliver more cash flow but often slower growth. You enter the property value, the net annual rent after costs, and the capital growth you expect, and the calculator shows the yield percentage, the growth percentage, the combined total return, and the dollar value of each. Use it to judge whether a property suits a cash-flow or a growth strategy, and remember growth is an expectation, not a guarantee.

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$
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7.5%
estimated total return a year
Rental yield3.5%
Capital growth4%
Income / growth ($)$28,000 / $32,000

Yield uses net rent after costs. Capital growth is an expectation, not a guarantee. Excludes tax and gearing. Estimate only, not financial advice.

How it works

The yield is the net annual rent divided by the property value, as a percentage. The capital growth percentage is what you enter, worth the value times that percentage in dollars. The total return is the yield plus the growth percentage, and the calculator also shows the income and the growth as dollar figures for the year.

Worked example

An 800,000 dollar property with 28,000 dollars of net rent yields 3.5 percent. With 4 percent expected growth, that is 32,000 dollars of value gain, so the total return is about 7.5 percent, weighted toward growth.

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