Real Estate Actual Return Calculator
The honest property IRR — with stamp duty, interest, maintenance, tax. Usually 4-6%, not the 10% you think
Configure Property
Typically 5-7% of property value
Your estimate of today's sale price
Home Loan
Annual Running Costs
Results
Where Your Money Went
Total outgo across all components
If Same Money Went to Equity MF @ 12%
Same down-payment + all outflows, SIP'd into equity MF over 5 years
Year-by-Year Cash Flow
Net inflow/outflow each year (bars) with cumulative running total (line)
Tax & Cost Breakdown
LTCG 12.5% (no indexation) — grandfathered
| Purchase Price | ₹75.00 L |
| Stamp Duty + Registration (7%) | ₹5.25 L |
| Total Loan Interest Paid (5y) | ₹24.12 L |
| Cumulative Property Tax | ₹1.00 L |
| Cumulative Maintenance | ₹1.50 L |
| Gross Sale Value | ₹1.50 Cr |
| Less: Brokerage (2%) | −₹3.00 L |
| Less: Capital Gains Tax | −₹8.34 L |
| Net Sale Proceeds | ₹1.39 Cr |
Key Insights
Your real IRR (30.60%) is actually higher than the naive price CAGR (14.87%) — stamp duty, loan interest, maintenance, and CGT silently eat the gap.
Stamp duty + registration alone cost 7% of purchase price — that is ₹5.25 L, or roughly 2-3 years of rental income wiped out on day one.
Not renting means you forfeit 2-3% p.a. of rental yield. That is ₹375K/year of cash flow you could have earned.
Post-Budget-2024: LTCG on property is 12.5% without indexation. For purchases before July 23, 2024, grandfathering lets you pick the lower of 12.5% (no index) or 20% (with index). This calculator applied the favorable option.
A typical Indian residential property delivers 4-7% real IRR over 10 years. Commercial can reach 8-10% due to higher yields. Equity mutual funds have historically delivered 11-13% p.a. over similar horizons — fully liquid, divisible, and not tied to one city or tenant.
CFP Note
Real estate “feels” like a great investment because you don't track hidden costs — stamp duty disappears at purchase, EMI is painful monthly but invisible annually, maintenance drips away, and CGT only hits at exit. Quantifying them reveals why liquid mutual fund SIPs (Growth option, Regular plan) often out-compound property over 10-15 years. Plus MFs are divisible, portable, and not tied to one city or tenant. Speak to your Relationship Manager before the next property decision.
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Calculator results are for illustration purposes only. Actual returns may vary based on market conditions, fund performance, and other factors. Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully before investing. Past performance does not guarantee future returns.
The real return on property — after all the costs
Property is often assumed to be a sure winner, but the headline "it doubled in ten years" ignores a long list of costs that quietly eat the return: stamp duty and registration at purchase, brokerage, maintenance and society charges, property tax, and the low rental yields typical in Indian cities. Once these are included, the honest annualised return on real estate is usually a good deal lower than the price appreciation alone suggests.
This calculator estimates the net annualised return on a property after these costs and any rental income, so you can compare it fairly with financial assets. The goal is not to argue against property — a home you live in has value beyond returns — but to judge an investment property on its true, after-cost numbers.
How this calculator works
- 1Enter the purchase and expected sale price, the holding period, and any rental income.
- 2Add the costs — stamp duty, registration, brokerage, maintenance and property tax.
- 3The calculator returns the net annualised (post-cost) return.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the real return on property?
Take the sale price minus all purchase and holding costs (stamp duty, registration, brokerage, maintenance, property tax), add net rental income received, and annualise the result over the holding period. That post-cost annualised figure is the honest return — usually lower than the headline appreciation.
Why is property return often lower than it looks?
Because the headline number is just price appreciation. Transaction costs (stamp duty, registration, brokerage) are large and one-off, ongoing costs (maintenance, property tax) accrue every year, and rental yields in many Indian cities are low. Together these can reduce the effective return significantly.
Is real estate better than mutual funds?
It depends on the specific property, location and period, and on your need for liquidity — property is illiquid and lumpy, while mutual funds are liquid and divisible. Compare the after-cost annualised return of the property against a diversified fund over the same period rather than relying on the assumption that "property always wins".
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Illustrative only; property returns depend on location, costs and market conditions and are not guaranteed.
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