๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Real Estate Calculator India -- Property ROI & Rent vs Buy

Calculate your property investment return including rental yield and capital appreciation. See the true total cost of buying with stamp duty, registration, brokerage, interiors, and home loan interest. Compare rent vs buy with break-even analysis. Side-by-side comparison with NIFTY 50, PPF, and FD returns. Updated with FY 2025-26 rates.

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Current market value or purchase price of the property
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Expected or current monthly rental income
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Expected yearly price increase. Metro average: 5-8%
years
How long you plan to hold this property
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Society charges, repairs, property tax combined
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How to Use This Calculator

Property ROI tab

Enter your property price, expected monthly rent, annual appreciation rate, and holding period. The calculator shows your gross and net rental yield, capital appreciation, total return CAGR, and a side-by-side comparison with NIFTY 50, PPF, and FD returns for the same investment amount. Use this to evaluate whether a specific property is a good investment.

True Cost of Buying tab

See every rupee you will spend beyond the property price: stamp duty, registration, brokerage, interiors, home loan interest, and maintenance over your holding period. Toggle the home loan on/off to compare cash purchase vs financed purchase. This tab reveals the true total cost that most buyers underestimate by 30-50%.

Rent vs Buy tab

Enter your current rent and the property price you are considering. The calculator finds the break-even year where buying becomes cheaper than renting, accounting for rent inflation, property appreciation, loan EMI, and all acquisition costs. See a year-by-year comparison to make an informed decision.

Share your result

Every input is encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact scenario to your family, financial advisor, or property agent.

The Formula

Real estate returns in India come from two sources: rental income and capital appreciation. Here are the key formulas used:

Gross Rental Yield:
Rental Yield (%) = (Annual Rent / Property Price) × 100

Net Rental Yield:
Net Yield (%) = (Annual Rent - Maintenance - Vacancy) / Property Price × 100

Total Return (CAGR):
CAGR = [(Future Value + Net Rental Income) / Purchase Price]^(1/Years) - 1

EMI (for home loan):
EMI = P × r × (1+r)^n / [(1+r)^n - 1]
Where P = loan amount, r = monthly rate, n = total months

Break-even Year (Rent vs Buy):
Year where: Cumulative Rent Paid > (Total Cash Spent on Buying - Property Equity)

Indian Benchmarks:
Rental yield: 2-3% (metros) | Appreciation: 5-8% CAGR
NIFTY 50: ~12% CAGR | PPF: 7.1% | FD: 7%
Home loan rate: 8.5-9.5% | Stamp duty: 5-7%

In India, rental yield alone (2-3%) is much lower than Western markets. The real return comes from capital appreciation + leverage. A property bought with 80% loan at 5% appreciation effectively gives higher ROI on your own capital (down payment), though the total interest cost can be substantial.

Example

Rahul and Neha -- evaluating a โ‚น75 lakh flat in Bangalore

Rahul and Neha are considering buying a 2BHK apartment in Bangalore's Whitefield area for โ‚น75,00,000. They currently pay โ‚น25,000/month in rent. They want to know if buying makes financial sense.

Step 1: Property ROI analysis

Property priceโ‚น75,00,000
Expected monthly rentโ‚น20,000
Gross rental yield3.20%
Annual appreciation5%
Holding period10 years
Future property valueโ‚น1.22 Cr
Total return CAGR~7.5%

Step 2: True cost of buying

Stamp duty (5%)โ‚น3,75,000
Registration (1%)โ‚น75,000
Brokerage (1%)โ‚น75,000
Interiorsโ‚น5,00,000
Home loan (โ‚น60L at 9%, 20yr) -- EMIโ‚น53,964/month
Total interest (10yr)โ‚น36.76 L
Total cash outflow (10yr)โ‚น1.19 Cr

Step 3: Rent vs Buy verdict

Total rent (10yr, 5% inflation)โ‚น37.73 L
Net cost of buying (spent - equity)โ‚น33.12 L
Break-even yearYear 7

At these assumptions, buying breaks even around year 7. Since Rahul and Neha plan to stay 10+ years in Bangalore, buying makes financial sense. The EMI (โ‚น53,964) is significantly higher than their rent (โ‚น25,000), so they need to budget for the higher monthly outflow. Their total return CAGR of ~7.5% is lower than NIFTY (12%), but includes the benefit of living in their own home.

FAQ

In Indian metros, gross rental yield of 2-3% is the norm. Anything above 3% is considered good, and above 4% is excellent. Bangalore and Hyderabad tend to have slightly higher yields (3-3.5%) due to strong IT-driven rental demand. Mumbai has some of the lowest yields (1.5-2.5%) because property prices are very high relative to rents. For comparison, rental yields in the US are typically 5-8% and in the UK 4-6%. In India, investors rely more on capital appreciation (5-8% CAGR) than rental income for returns.
Historically, NIFTY 50 has delivered 12-14% CAGR over 10+ years, while real estate in Indian metros has delivered 7-9% total return (rent + appreciation). However, real estate offers leverage -- you can buy a โ‚น1 Cr property with โ‚น20L down payment using a home loan, amplifying your return on equity. Real estate also provides forced savings through EMI discipline, tax benefits (Section 24(b), 80C), and emotional security of home ownership. The downsides are illiquidity (3-12 months to sell), high transaction costs (8-12% acquisition overhead), and concentration risk (single asset). A balanced approach -- owning one home and investing surplus in equity/MF -- is often the most practical strategy for Indian households.
Under the old tax regime, you get: (1) Section 24(b): Deduction on home loan interest up to โ‚น2,00,000/year for self-occupied property. For let-out (rented) property, the entire interest is deductible with no limit. (2) Section 80C: Deduction on principal repayment up to โ‚น1,50,000/year (shared limit with PPF, ELSS, etc.). (3) Section 80EEA: Additional โ‚น1,50,000 interest deduction for first-time buyers of affordable housing (stamp duty value up to โ‚น45L, loan sanctioned by March 2022). Stamp duty and registration charges are also deductible under Section 80C in the year of purchase. Under the new tax regime, Section 80C deductions are not available, but Section 24(b) deduction of โ‚น2L is available for self-occupied property. Rental income gets a flat 30% standard deduction under both regimes.
In most Indian cities, you need to hold a property for at least 5-7 years to break even on the transaction costs alone (8-12% on buying + 2-3% on selling). For the rent vs buy equation, the typical break-even is 7-10 years depending on the rent-to-price ratio, loan rate, and appreciation. Capital gains tax also incentivizes holding: property sold within 2 years attracts short-term capital gains (taxed at slab rate), while sale after 2 years attracts LTCG at 12.5% (without indexation, post-July 2024). A holding period of 10+ years is ideal for maximizing appreciation gains and amortizing transaction costs over a longer period. If you might relocate within 3-5 years, renting is almost always cheaper.
Beyond the property price, you should budget for: (1) Stamp duty: 5-7% depending on state (see our Stamp Duty Calculator). (2) Registration charge: typically 1% (4% in Tamil Nadu). (3) GST: 5% on under-construction properties (1% for affordable housing under โ‚น45L). Not applicable on ready-to-move-in or resale. (4) Brokerage: 1-2% of property value to the broker. (5) Interiors & furnishing: โ‚น3-10 lakh for a 2-3 BHK. (6) Home loan processing fee: 0.25-1% of loan amount. (7) Legal charges: โ‚น10,000-50,000 for documentation. (8) Society maintenance: โ‚น3,000-15,000/month. (9) Property tax: 0.1-0.3% of property value annually. (10) Home insurance: 0.05-0.1% annually (optional but recommended). In total, expect 10-15% extra beyond the property price for acquisition, plus ongoing recurring costs.

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