Property ROI Calculator: UAE
This property ROI calculator for the UAE shows your cash-on-cash return for a year and your total return over the years you plan to hold, from your price, down payment, mortgage, rent and costs. Every figure is yours, including any change in price, which starts at 0%.
Updated September 2026
1Purchase and Financing
Leave the down payment blank if you are buying with cash.
2Rent, Costs and Your Assumptions
Rent and costs are held flat each year. Appreciation is your own assumption, not a forecast.
3Your Estimated Return
Cash-on-cash return (year 1)
—
Annual cash flow ÷ cash invested
Total return over 5 years
—
Total profit ÷ cash invested
Annualised return
—
Total return spread per year
Yearly cash flow
- Annual rent
- AED 0
- Less vacancy allowance
- AED 0
- Less running costs
- AED 0
- Net rental income
- AED 0
- Less mortgage repayments (12 months)
- AED 0
- Annual cash flow
- AED 0
- Cash invested (down payment + purchase costs)
- AED 0
On sale after 5 years
- Sale price at your assumption
- AED 0
- Less selling costs
- AED 0
- Less mortgage balance repaid
- AED 0
- Net sale proceeds
- AED 0
- Plus 5 years of cash flow
- AED 0
- Less cash invested
- AED 0
- Total profit
- AED 0
iEnter a purchase price, an annual rent and a holding period to see your return.
How is property ROI calculated?
The calculator works out two returns on the cash you put in (down payment plus purchase costs).
Cash-on-cash return is the income return for one year:
Cash-on-cash = (rent − vacancy − running costs − 12 × mortgage repayment) ÷ cash invested × 100
Total return adds what you keep when you sell:
Total profit = years held × annual cash flow + (sale price − selling costs − loan balance) − cash invested
Total return = total profit ÷ cash invested × 100
The sale price is today's price grown by the yearly price change you enter. The loan balance at sale comes from a standard repayment schedule at your rate and term. The annualised figure spreads the total return evenly across the years so you can compare different holding periods.
Worked example
Illustrative figures only, not market data or a forecast. A cash purchase held for 5 years, with 0% price change and selling costs assumed at 2%:
| Purchase price (cash) | AED 1,000,000 |
| Purchase costs | AED 50,000 |
| Cash invested | AED 1,050,000 |
| Rent 60,000 − 1 month vacancy 5,000 − running costs 15,000 | AED 40,000 a year |
| Cash-on-cash: 40,000 ÷ 1,050,000 | 3.81% |
| Sale price after 5 years at 0% change | AED 1,000,000 |
| Less selling costs (2%) | − AED 20,000 |
| Plus 5 years of cash flow | AED 200,000 |
| Total profit: 200,000 + 980,000 − 1,050,000 | AED 130,000 |
| Total return (annualised about 2.36%) | 12.38% |
With a mortgage the cash invested is smaller, so the same profit is a bigger percentage, but repayments reduce the yearly cash flow and a price fall hits your equity harder.
What this ROI calculator doesn't include
- Changing rent and costs. Both are held flat for the whole period.
- Rate changes and loan fees.The mortgage uses one rate for the full term. Variable rates, early-settlement fees and bank charges aren't modelled; estimate the repayment with the mortgage calculator.
- Purchase costs you haven't entered. See the costs of buying property in Dubai or use the buying cost calculator.
- Off-plan payment plans. Instalments paid during construction aren't modelled. Read the guide to buying off-plan property first.
- Tax and inflation. Results are before any tax and not adjusted for inflation.
Only need the income return? The rental yield calculator is quicker. For the method in more depth, read how to calculate ROI on rental property in Dubai.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate ROI on a property in the UAE?
Add up everything the property earns you over the time you own it (rent after costs and mortgage payments, plus what you keep when you sell after repaying the loan and paying selling costs), subtract the cash you put in (down payment plus purchase costs), and divide by that cash. The calculator does this for any holding period you choose.
What is cash-on-cash return?
Cash-on-cash return is one year's cash flow (rent minus vacancy, running costs and mortgage repayments) divided by the cash you invested. It shows the income return on your own money and ignores any change in the property's value.
Should I assume property prices will rise?
The calculator starts at 0% a year so the result doesn't depend on growth. Any figure you enter is your own assumption, not a forecast: prices can fall as well as rise. Try a few values, including a negative one, to see how sensitive your return is.
How does a mortgage affect my ROI?
Borrowing reduces the cash you put in, so gains and losses are both magnified relative to that cash. Repayments also cut your yearly cash flow, which can turn negative. UAE Central Bank rules cap the loan at 80% of value for an expatriate's first home up to AED 5 million (85% for UAE nationals), 60% or 65% for second homes, and 50% for off-plan.
What does this ROI calculator leave out?
Rent and running costs are held flat every year. It doesn't model rent increases, interest-rate changes on a variable mortgage, early-repayment fees, major repairs, tax or the time value of money. Treat the result as a way to compare scenarios, not as a promise of return.
Sources
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This calculator works only from the figures you enter and is for estimation. It is not financial advice or a loan offer. Check figures with your bank, developer or management company before you commit.