Gross vs net rental yield in Limassol: how to calculate it (with a worked example)
Gross yield is the headline number; net yield is what you actually keep. How to calculate both for a new Limassol apartment – step by step, with real 2026 figures.
New residential towers in Limassol. Photo: Andreas Johansson / Unsplash
Every property listing quotes a yield. But the figure in the brochure is almost always the gross yield – rent divided by price. What matters to you is the net yield: what is left after costs, vacancy and tax. Here is how to calculate both for a new apartment in Limassol, with a worked example.
Gross yield: the headline number
Gross yield = annual rent ÷ purchase price × 100.
It is useful for a first comparison between apartments, but it ignores everything that happens between the tenant’s payment and your bank account.
Net yield: what you actually keep
Net yield = (annual rent − vacancy − running costs) ÷ total acquisition cost × 100.
Two details make a big difference:
- Use the total acquisition cost, not just the price: VAT (19% for most investors buying a new home), legal fees and any loan costs.
- Be realistic about running costs: communal fees, insurance, maintenance, management and municipal charges. Market guides for Limassol commonly put them at around 15–25% of gross rent – higher in towers with pools, gyms and concierge services.
A worked example
New 2-bedroom apartment in Limassol (illustration)
- Price: €350,000 + 19% VAT (€66,500) = €416,500
- Legal and other purchase costs (≈1.5% of price): ≈€5,250 → total cost ≈€421,750
- Rent: €1,900 a month = €22,800 a year
- Gross yield on price: €22,800 ÷ €350,000 = 6.5%
- Vacancy (about one month a year): −€1,900
- Running costs (≈20% of rent): −€4,560
- Net operating income: €16,340
- Net yield on total cost: €16,340 ÷ €421,750 ≈ 3.9% (before tax)
The same apartment shows 6.5% in an advert and about 3.9% in reality. Neither number is wrong – they measure different things. Always ask which one you are being shown.
How a rental guarantee changes the maths
With a developer’s written rental guarantee – for example 6% a year for a fixed period – vacancy and, often, management and maintenance are covered by the developer during the guarantee period, so your net figure moves much closer to the guaranteed rate. Two things still matter: what the percentage is calculated on (price with or without VAT) and what happens when the guarantee period ends.
Where the numbers come from
Use real data, not hope. Limassol is the island’s most expensive rental market: according to Cyprus Mail’s summary of Bazaraki listings, the average advertised apartment rent in Limassol in January–August 2026 was about €1,716 a month. Advertised rents are asking prices, not signed leases, so check comparable rentals in the same building or street.
Five checks before you trust a yield
- Is it gross or net?
- Is it calculated on the price with or without VAT?
- Does it include communal fees and management?
- Which rent is assumed – asking rent or achieved rent?
- For guaranteed yields: for how long, and who pays the costs?
Because we are not tied to any single developer, we compare these numbers across projects – so you see like-for-like figures, not the best brochure.
Figures are illustrations, not financial or tax advice. Rents, costs and tax rules change; confirm the details for your purchase with independent advisers.