Yield Value Calculator for Investment Property

The calculator needs JavaScript. The formula: yield value = net rental income ÷ capitalisation rate. Example: CHF 120’000 ÷ 3.5 % = CHF 3’428’571.

How the capitalisation rate is built.

Three building blocks make up the rate. The first depends on interest rates, the other two on your property. That is why a tenth of a percent moves the value more than any rent increase.

Base rate

The interest the capital would earn elsewhere. The SNB policy rate has stood at 0 % since the decision of 24 September 2026, and ten-year fixed mortgages cost around 2 %. The lower the interest rate, the lower the capitalisation rate and the higher the value.

Surcharges for costs

Operating costs borne by the owner, ongoing maintenance and provisions for replacement investments such as roof, façade and heating. A well-kept building needs a smaller surcharge than one in need of renovation.

Risk of location and vacancy

The safer the letting, the lower the rate. In the canton of Zug only 0.20 % of flats were vacant on 1 June 2026, the lowest rate of all cantons. Commercial space and peripheral locations carry a higher surcharge.

Which rate is usual? Benchmarks with sources

There is no official capitalisation rate. The figures below show where the market stands, what tenancy law allows and how conservatively the state calculates. As of 21 October 2026, sources at the end of the page.

Benchmark	Rate	Source
Net cash-flow yield of institutional residential portfolios, 2025	2.9 %	IAZI Swiss Property Benchmark; MSCI/Wüest Partner Switzerland Property Index
Net cash-flow yield of office and retail property, 2025	3.1 to 3.5 %	IAZI; Wüest Partner
Net yield permitted under Swiss tenancy law: reference rate 1.25 % plus 2 points	3.25 %	Federal Supreme Court, ruling 4A_554/2019; Federal Office for Housing
Preset of this calculator: well-kept apartment building in a good location	3.5 %	Assumption by Rudat AG
Gross yield of newly built apartment buildings	3.5 % gross	Fahrländer Partner and HEV Schweiz
Tax capitalisation rate for apartment buildings, canton of Zurich, from 2026	4.8 to 6.5 % per municipality	Government Council of the Canton of Zurich

The portfolio yields are averages across thousands of properties valued at market value. For a single building the rate lies above or below them depending on location, age and rent roll. The tenancy-law limit shows how much net yield a landlord may charge at most. The Zurich tax rates show why the tax value is almost always below the market value.

Worked example

Apartment building with six flats, net rental income CHF 120’000 per year, capitalisation rate 3.5 %, range plus and minus 0.25 points.

Step	Amount
Net rental income per year	CHF 120’000
Capitalisation rate	3.50 %
Yield value: 120’000 divided by 0.035	CHF 3’428’571, rounded in the calculator to CHF 3’429’000
Upper end of the range, rate 3.25 %	CHF 3’692’308, rounded to CHF 3’690’000
Lower end of the range, rate 3.75 %	CHF 3’200’000
One tenth of a percent less in the rate (3.40 %)	CHF 3’529’412, around CHF 101’000 more
Value as a multiple of the annual rent	28.6×

For comparison: at 4.0 % the value would be CHF 3’000’000, at 5.0 % CHF 2’400’000. One percentage point in the rate makes a difference of CHF 600’000 in this example. That is why every hour spent on the rent roll, the service charge statement and the maintenance record pays off when selling an apartment building: it justifies a lower rate.

From the rent roll to the net rental income

Net rents of all units per year, excluding service charges and advance payments.
Add: parking spaces, storage, antenna or advertising space, as far as they are let.
Vacant units at the achievable rent, not at zero; the bank does the same.
Do not deduct: maintenance, management, insurance and vacancy risk. They are built into the capitalisation rate as surcharges.
Clearly too low or too high rents adjusted to the sustainable level. Swiss tenancy law allows a net yield of at most 2 points above the reference interest rate, currently 3.25 %.

The occasion for this calculator is the IAZI price index of 7 October 2026: investment properties became 4.5 % more expensive within twelve months and 1.4 % quarter on quarter, single-family homes only 2.8 % and 0.7 %, condominiums 3.9 % and 0.8 %. IAZI names low interest rates as the reason: the lower the policy rate, the greater the yield advantage of real estate over other investments. If you own an apartment building, it has gained in value this year; the calculator shows how much, and the free valuation shows what the market will pay.

Sources

Questions about the yield value

What is the yield value of a property?

The yield value, also called the capitalised earnings value, is the sustainable net rental income capitalised: the annual rent excluding service charges, divided by the capitalisation rate. That is how the guidelines of the Swiss Bankers Association define it, and how Swiss banks value apartment buildings for financing. CHF 120’000 of net rent at 3.5 % gives a yield value of around CHF 3’429’000.

Which capitalisation rate is right?

There is no official rate. It is made up of a base rate for the capital and surcharges for operating costs, maintenance, replacement investments and the risk of location, condition and vacancy. Benchmark: institutional residential portfolios earned a net cash-flow yield of 2.9 % in 2025 (IAZI Swiss Property Benchmark, MSCI/Wüest Partner Switzerland Property Index). The calculator is preset to 3.5 %, an assumption for a well-kept apartment building in a good location. Older buildings, commercial space and peripheral locations are higher, near-new buildings in prime locations lower.

Gross or net rent?

Net rent: the rents excluding service charges such as heating, hot water, caretaking and electricity for common areas. Do not deduct maintenance, management or vacancy risk from the rent; they are built into the capitalisation rate as surcharges. For vacant flats use the achievable rent, for flats with a clearly too low rent the sustainable one.

Why does the value rise when interest rates fall?

Because the capitalisation rate follows the interest rate level. With a policy rate of 0 % and ten-year fixed mortgages at around 2 %, investors accept a lower return, the rate falls and the value rises. According to the IAZI price index of 7 October 2026, investment properties became 4.5 % more expensive within twelve months, single-family homes 2.8 %. One tenth of a percent less in the rate is worth around CHF 101’000 on CHF 120’000 of net rent at 3.5 %.

Why does the tax value differ from the yield value?

Because the tax authorities use their own, conservative rates. The canton of Zurich, for example, has set a capitalisation rate for apartment buildings per municipality since 1 January 2026, between 4.8 and 6.5 %, well above market rates. The tax value is therefore usually below the market value. Never sell at the tax value.

Does the buyer’s bank calculate the same way?

Yes. The buyer’s bank values the property on the same principle and lends against the yield value it determines, not against the asking price. If your price is above the bank’s value, the buyer must cover the difference with own funds. A price based on a justified rate and a clean rent roll stands up to that review.

How accurate is the calculator?

As accurate as the rate. That is why it shows a range rather than a single figure. We determine the rate for your property after an inspection from location, condition, rent roll and renovation needs; the valuation is free of charge. With “Request a valuation” your figures go straight into the form.

Does the calculator work for commercial and mixed-use property?

The formula is the same, the rate is not. For office and retail property the net cash-flow yield in 2025 was 3.1 % (IAZI) and 3.5 % (Wüest Partner), higher than for residential. With a commercial share, set the rate higher accordingly or calculate the uses separately.

Selling an investment property?

Yield valuation free of charge, discreet marketing to pre-registered investors. Conrad Rudat gets in touch personally.

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