Methodology · Yield Analysis · 26 May 2026
The yield figure you were quoted is not your yield.
It is the starting point of a calculation most advisors never complete. Gross rent divided by purchase price. That is the number on the brochure, in the deck, in the DM. It is also the number that has done the least amount of work on your behalf by the time capital moves.
Andrew May · Cross-Border Real Estate Advisory
Since 2015, global M2 has expanded 87%. US M2 reached an all-time high of 22.7 trillion dollars in February 2026, adding 225 billion dollars in a single month, nearly tripling the average monthly increase from the second half of 2025. Every yield figure denominated in an expanding currency is being measured against a shrinking unit of account. The gross yield does not tell you this. It tells you nothing about what the return actually buys.
Here is what the yield figure has not survived before it reaches you.
Six Adjustments · What the Brochure Number Has Not Survived
1. Acquisition costs
Stamp duty, legal fees, agency fees, registration, notarial charges. Germany: 10–15% of purchase price before a single day of ownership. Singapore: 60% ABSD on top of every other cost.
2. Vacancy and management
Gross yield assumes full occupancy and zero management cost. Singapore CCR: a defensible vacancy allowance runs at 8%. Five percent is no longer a supportable base case.
3. Local CPI
Real yield equals nominal yield minus the rate at which the local economy is eroding purchasing power. Most yield figures are nominal. The real number is always lower.
4. Currency movement
A 6% gross yield in JPY returned to a USD investor delivers approximately 3.1% in USD terms after yen depreciation since 2015. The brochure showed 6%.
5. M2 dilution
The unit of account has expanded 87% since 2015. A nominal return that does not outpace M2 expansion is a real loss dressed as a gain. Applies to every position in an expanding currency regardless of jurisdiction.
6. Exit costs
Selling costs, capital gains treatment, currency conversion spread, banking jurisdiction friction at the point of repatriation. Never in the entry yield figure. Always in the exit reality.
What remains after all six adjustments is the number that should have been presented at entry. It is almost always materially lower than the figure that was.
Advisory
If you want to know what your current yield figure looks like after the adjustments, a 30-minute scoping call is the starting point.
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