Buy-to-let total return.

Property investment ROI combines rental cash flow and property appreciation. Total return = total rental income + appreciation gain. ROI calculated against deposit (initial cash invested), not full property price - leveraged returns. Buy-to-let typical ROI: 8-15% annually including appreciation, 3-5% pure rental yield.

300k property, 75k deposit, 1,500/month rent - 400 expenses = 1,100 net = 13,200/year. Over 10 years: 132k rental + appreciation 100k (3% pa) = 232k total return. ROI on 75k deposit: 309%. Strong returns from leverage. Without mortgage (cash purchase): much lower ROI percentage but lower risk.

Buy-to-let economics tightened post-2017: mortgage interest tax relief restricted, property transfer tax surcharge 3%, capital gains tax higher than primary residence. Despite these, properties in growing areas still deliver double-digit ROI through combined cash flow and appreciation. Locations matter enormously - some areas deliver 15%+ annual returns, others negative.

Run it with sensible defaults

Using property price of 300,000, deposit of 75,000, monthly rent of 1,500, monthly expenses of 400, the calculation works out to 313.57%. Nudge the inputs toward your own situation and the output recalculates instantly. The defaults are meant as a starting point, not a recommendation.

The levers in this calculation

The inputs — Property Price, Deposit, Monthly Rent, Monthly Expenses, and Annual Appreciation % — do not pull with equal force. The rate and the time horizon usually dominate — compounding means a small change in either reshapes the final figure more than a similar shift in contribution size. Test this by doubling one input at a time.

How the math works

Net rental = (rent - expenses) × 12 × years. Appreciation = price × (1 + rate)^years - price. ROI = (rental + appreciation) ÷ deposit × 100. The working is transparent — you can verify every step yourself in the formula section below. No black box, no opaque "proprietary model".

Why investors run this

Most people's intuition for compounding is wrong — not because the math is hard, but because linear thinking doesn't account for curves. Running numbers through a calculator like this one is the cheapest way to recalibrate that intuition before making an irreversible decision about contribution rate, asset mix, or retirement age.

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. Treat the number as one scenario, not a forecast.