Work out your real return — gross, net of service charges, and true yield on total cash invested including Dubai's purchase fees.
Fees reflect standard 2026 Dubai ready-resale transactions and may change — verify final amounts at the trustee office.
Gross yield is the simplest measure — annual rent as a percentage of purchase price, before any costs. It gives you a quick, comparable number across properties, but it overstates your actual return because it ignores what it costs to own and run the property.
Gross yield = (Annual rent ÷ Purchase price) × 100Net yield deducts your annual running costs — primarily service charges, but also any management fees, maintenance provisions, or other recurring costs — from the rent before calculating the percentage. This is the more realistic picture of what you actually receive each year.
Net yield = ((Annual rent − Service charges − Other costs) ÷ Purchase price) × 100True yield uses your total cash invested — not just the purchase price — as the denominator. In Dubai, buying a ready resale property adds roughly 6–7% in transaction costs on top of the price: the DLD transfer fee (4%), agency commission (2% + 5% VAT), trustee office fee (AED 4,200 + VAT), and the title deed registration fee (AED 580). True yield gives you the most accurate view of your real return on the money you actually deployed.
True yield = ((Annual rent − Annual costs) ÷ Total cash invested) × 100Where total cash invested = purchase price + DLD fee + agency fee + trustee fee + title deed.