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
2.08%
Cap rate
6.56%
Gross yield
9.90%
Monthly cash flow
$163
Annual cash flow
$1,959
Total cash invested
$94,000
Loan amount
$320,000
Mortgage payment
$2,023
per month
DSCR
1.08
debt service coverage
Total return
211.58%
over 10 years
IRR
13.28%
internal rate of return, per year
Net sale proceeds
$234,029
after selling costs and loan payoff
1% rule target monthly rent:$4,000
This deal has a year-1 cash flow of $1,959 and a cash-on-cash return of 2.08% on $94,000 invested.
Selling after 10 years at the projected value would leave $234,029 after selling costs and paying off the loan. With the cash flow collected along the way, that is a total return of 211.58% on your cash invested, and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 13.28% a year.
Your numbers
Purchase & financing
Income & operating costs
Parking, storage, laundry, etc.
Projection assumptions
Used for the total return and IRR figures in the results.
Agent fees and transfer taxes when you sell at the end of the holding period.
+Advanced options
Adds inflation-adjusted figures to the holding-period return below.
Property value, loan balance & equity over time
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
6.60%
IRR
$128,716 equity at year 10
3% appreciation
13.28%
IRR
$266,283 equity at year 10
6% appreciation
18.55%
IRR
$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 | $1,959 | $1,959 |
| Year 3 | $437,091 | $308,535 | $128,556 | $3,611 | $8,345 |
| Year 5 | $463,710 | $299,555 | $164,155 | $5,346 | $18,159 |
| Year 10 | $537,567 | $271,284 | $266,283 | $10,079 | $58,857 |
| Year 15 | $623,187 | $232,189 | $390,998 | $15,434 | $125,055 |
| Year 20 | $722,444 | $178,129 | $544,316 | $21,493 | $220,104 |
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 formulas behind the analysis
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 return at your chosen holding period reuses this site's ROI calculation: total cash invested is the cost basis, the net sale proceeds (projected value minus selling costs and the remaining loan) are the final value, and cumulative cash flow through that year is income received along the way. IRR is the yearly rate at which the cash invested today, each year's cash flow, and the net sale proceeds in the final year have a net present value of zero.
Net operating income (NOI) is rent plus other income, minus vacancy, management, maintenance, property tax, insurance, and HOA fees. Annual cash flow = NOI − annual mortgage payments. Gross yield = annual rent and other income ÷ purchase price × 100; cap rate = NOI ÷ purchase price × 100; cash-on-cash return = annual cash flow ÷ total cash invested × 100, where total cash invested is the down payment plus closing and renovation costs; DSCR = NOI ÷ annual mortgage payments.
In the year-by-year projection, rent and other income grow at your rent growth rate and management and maintenance grow with them, while property tax, insurance, and HOA fees stay at today's level. Mortgage payments stop once the loan is paid off.
How to analyze a rental property
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.
Property investment FAQ
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 IRR calculated?+
Both assume you sell at the end of your holding period. The net sale proceeds — projected value minus selling costs and the remaining loan — plus all the cash flow collected along the way are measured against your total cash invested: that is the total return. IRR (internal rate of return) turns the same money into a yearly rate that also accounts for when each amount arrives, so cash received early counts for more than the same cash at the sale.
Why does the IRR differ from simply annualizing the total return?+
Annualizing the total return treats all the money as if it arrived on the day you sell. In a rental, part of it — the yearly cash flow — arrives much earlier, and money in hand sooner is worth more. IRR weighs each year's cash flow by its timing, which is why it is the standard way to compare property deals with each other and with other investments.
Why does a 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) IRR show?+
It's your IRR 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.
Learn more
- Gross yield vs. net yield: which one should you trust?Two properties can have the same gross yield and completely different returns. Here's why net yield tells the real story.
- Cap rate vs. cash-on-cash return, explained with one exampleSame property, two very different numbers. Understanding why they diverge is the key to understanding leverage.
- What is a good cap rate? It depends on what you are buyingCap rates are a price tag on risk. Here's how to judge one against the property, the market, and the cost of borrowing.
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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.
See our full disclaimer and how we calculate.
Last reviewed 2026-10-17 by the Yield Analyst team