Real Estate
Property Investment Calculator
A full deal analyzer: financing, cash flow, gross yield, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and a long-term equity projection — all from one set of inputs.
Cash-on-cash return
-2.12%
Cap rate
5.57%
Gross yield
8.70%
Monthly cash flow
-$166.35
Annual cash flow
-$1,996
Total cash invested
$94,000
Loan amount
$320,000
Mortgage payment
$2,023
per month
DSCR
0.92
debt service coverage
Total return
198.75%
over 10 years
Annualized return
11.57%
on cash invested
1% rule target monthly rent: $4,000
This deal has a year-1 cash flow of -$1,996 and a cash-on-cash return of -2.12% on $94,000 invested.
Over a 10-year holding period, projected equity plus cumulative cash flow gives a total return of 198.75% — equivalent to 11.57% per year — on your original cash invested.
Property value, loan balance & equity over time
Your numbers
Purchase & financing
Income & operating costs
Parking, storage, laundry, etc.
Projection assumptions
Used for the total/annualized return figures below.
+Advanced options
Adds inflation-adjusted figures to the holding-period return below.
See how appreciation changes the result
Same purchase, financing, and rent — three different assumed appreciation rates, holding everything else fixed through your chosen holding period.
0% appreciation
4.30%
annualized return
$128,716 equity at year 10
3% appreciation
11.57%
annualized return
$266,283 equity at year 10
6% appreciation
17.20%
annualized return
$445,055 equity at year 10
Long-term projection
| Year | Property value | Loan balance | Equity | Annual cash flow | Cumulative cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $412,000 | $316,423 | $95,577 | -$1,996 | -$1,996 |
| Year 3 | $437,091 | $308,535 | $128,556 | -$544.53 | -$3,820 |
| Year 5 | $463,710 | $299,555 | $164,155 | $980.64 | -$2,631 |
| Year 10 | $537,567 | $271,284 | $266,283 | $5,140 | $14,545 |
| Year 15 | $623,187 | $232,189 | $390,998 | $9,846 | $54,130 |
| Year 20 | $722,444 | $178,129 | $544,316 | $15,170 | $119,070 |
Projections assume constant appreciation, rent growth, and expense ratios — real markets are not this smooth. Treat this as a planning sketch, not a forecast.
The formula
Equity(year n) = Property Value(year n) − Remaining Loan Balance(year n)
Property value grows at your assumed annual appreciation rate; the loan balance is amortized using the standard fixed-rate mortgage schedule. Cash flow, cap rate, and cash-on-cash return all follow the same formulas used in this site's dedicated calculators for each metric.
Total and annualized return at your chosen holding period reuse this site's ROI calculation directly: total cash invested is treated as the cost basis, projected equity as the final value, and cumulative cash flow through that year as income received along the way.
How to read it
A single yield or cap rate figure tells you about one moment in a deal. This calculator exists to show the fuller arc: how a property’s cash flow, loan balance, and equity are likely to evolve if your assumptions about rent growth and appreciation hold roughly true.
Real estate returns come from four separate sources — cash flow, loan paydown, appreciation, and tax benefits — and they behave very differently. Cash flow is visible immediately but often thin in the early years, especially with a smaller down payment. Loan paydown and appreciation compound quietly in the background and often end up being the larger share of total return over a 10–20 year hold.
Treat the projection table as a sketch, not a guarantee. Small changes in the appreciation and rent growth assumptions compound significantly over a 15–20 year horizon, so it’s worth running the numbers with a conservative case and an optimistic case rather than trusting a single scenario.
Frequently asked
What does this calculator include that the others don’t?+
It combines financing, operating costs, and income into one model, then projects the deal forward — property value, remaining loan balance, and equity — at years 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, and 20. The single-purpose calculators (cap rate, cash-on-cash, rental yield) each isolate one metric; this one shows how they interact over time.
How is the equity projection calculated?+
Property value compounds at your entered appreciation rate. The loan balance is amortized month by month at your interest rate and term using the standard mortgage amortization formula. Equity is simply projected value minus remaining loan balance in each year.
What is the 1% rule shown in the results?+
The 1% rule is a rough screening heuristic some investors use: if monthly rent is at least 1% of the purchase price, the deal may be worth a closer look. It’s a filter, not a valuation method — plenty of good deals fall outside it, especially in appreciation-focused markets.
What is DSCR and why does it matter?+
Debt Service Coverage Ratio is Net Operating Income divided by annual debt service (mortgage payments). A DSCR above 1.0 means the property’s income covers its debt payments; many commercial lenders require 1.20–1.25 or higher before approving a loan.
How are total return and annualized return calculated?+
At your chosen holding period, projected equity (property value minus remaining loan balance) plus all of the cumulative cash flow collected along the way is measured against your total cash invested — the same total-return logic as the ROI calculator, applied to this deal's projected equity and cash flow. Annualized return restates that total as a constant yearly rate, which is what makes it comparable to a holding period of different length.
Why does small change in the appreciation rate shift the return so much?+
Leverage. Because you only put down a fraction of the purchase price, a given percentage change in property value translates into a much larger percentage change in your equity — the appreciation-rate comparison below shows this directly on the same deal, holding financing, rent, and every other assumption fixed.
What does the real (inflation-adjusted) annualized return show?+
It's your annualized return adjusted for an assumed inflation rate via the Fisher relation, plus the projected property value restated in today's purchasing power. Both are estimates based on the inflation rate you assume — not predictions of actual future inflation — and both are optional; leave the inflation rate at 0 to ignore them.
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View all →Educational tool, not advice. This calculator illustrates a standard formula using the numbers you enter. It does not account for your full financial picture, taxes, or local market conditions, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset. Speak with a licensed professional before making investment decisions.