Gross vs Net Yield: Why the Agent’s Number Is Wrong

When an agent tells you a property “yields 6%,” they mean gross yield: annual rent ÷ purchase price. Your actual return — after expenses, tax, voids, and maintenance — is net yield. The gap can be 40–50%. Here’s a Dublin example.

The Calculation

And this is before income tax. At the 52% marginal rate, the after-tax yield drops to roughly 2.0%. That’s the real return on a Dublin property.