Property Investment
3 min read
Author: Andrew Nicol
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Investors often ask me … “What is a good gross yield, toady?”
In other words, what sort of rental return should property investors expect?
I ran the numbers on all 12,958 Trade Me rental listings to find out what investors are accepting right now.
Across New Zealand, the median gross yield is 4.5% (December 2025).
Remember, the gross yield is how much rent you get (per year) vs the property’s current value.
If the median is 4.5% … that means half of Kiwi investors earn more than 4.5%. Half of investors get less than 4.5%.
Let’s break it down further:
But those yields change a lot based on where you own your property.
A “good” yield in one city can be unrealistic in another.
Let’s say you had a 5% gross yield on a property in Auckland. That would put you in the top 25% of investors (when it comes to yield).
But, if that same 5% gross yield were in Southland, that’d put you in the bottom 25%.
So, when someone asks, “What’s a good gross yield?” The answer changes based on where the property is.
It’s tempting to chase the highest yield you can find. But remember that gross yields (on their own) are flawed.
This number only answers one question: how much rent does this property generate compared to what it’s worth?
It ignores all expenses like your rates, insurance, maintenance, mortgage costs, and so much more. So, use it as a sense check, not a final verdict.
For instance, a property in a tiny town might have a high gross yield. Sounds great. But what if property prices don’t go up as fast as in other areas? That might disappoint you.
Or, the yield might be high … but so might the other costs (smaller regions often have relatively higher council rates).
So make sure you’re looking at the whole picture before deciding where (or where not) to invest.
I’ve been running this analysis on and off for the last 2 years.
And I’ve noticed that recently … rental yields have been on the rise.
Rental yields increased over the last 6 months in 10 out of the 12 regions I track. They only fell in Waikato and Taranaki.
Northland saw the biggest lift, jumping from roughly 4.6% to about 5.3%. And they’ve also climbed in Auckland and Wellington, too.
To be clear, that doesn’t mean that rents are exploding. They’re not. It’s down to the combo of soft property prices and sticky rents.
That combination can edge rental yields higher.
On top of that, the properties on Trade Me change all the time. So the same size is smaller in smaller regions (Northland, Southland, and Manawatū-Whanganui). That's why the yields can (and do) swing more widely.
If you’re looking for an investment property. Calculate the gross yield for the property you are looking at.
That is the ( weekly rent x 52 / property value ) x 100.
Take that number and:
And once you know all that … you can make an informed decision about whether to invest in that property.
Because the most important question isn’t: “Does this property have a good gross yield?”
It’s: “Does this investment fit with my goals?”
Managing Director, 20+ Years' Experience Investing In Property, Author & Host
Andrew Nicol, Managing Director at Opes Partners, is a seasoned financial adviser and property investment expert with 20+ years of experience. With 40 investment properties, he hosts the Property Academy Podcast, co-authored 'Wealth Plan' with Ed Mcknight, and has helped 1,894 Kiwis achieve financial security through property investment.
This article is for your general information. It’s not financial advice. See here for details about our Financial Advice Provider Disclosure. So Opes isn’t telling you what to do with your own money.
We’ve made every effort to make sure the information is accurate. But we occasionally get the odd fact wrong. Make sure you do your own research or talk to a financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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