Project Carter
Commercial Property ROI Calculator
Model a property hold from purchase to sale. Enter the price, the loan, the one-off buying costs and the net rent, then set how fast rent grows, how the loan is paid down from profit, and whether you expect a value uplift along the way. The numbers update live, and you can take away a one-page PDF. It is an estimate to help you think, not financial advice.
Pull figures in from your saved portfolio equity or a Commercial Lending report. Leave unticked to run this as a standalone assessment.
Use your portfolio equity
Prefill "Funds you have available" below from your saved portfolio's usable equity.
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Use a saved Commercial Lending report
Prefill purchase price, loan and interest rate below from a major-bank scenario you've already worked out on the Commercial Lending calculator.
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Report
Shown on the PDF and used to name the report if you save it to your account.
Purchase
Commercial values the property off net rent at a capitalisation rate. Residential instead grows the purchase price at a capital growth rate, since a residential value is not usually read off its rent.
Loan — · Deposit —
Cash or equity you can put toward this, e.g. released from another property. Compared against the total cash required, does not change the return figures above.
Pick a state and the field below fills with an estimate from its general transfer duty rates. Edit it if you have the exact figure.
Estimate only. General duty scales reflect published 2024–25 rates; the SA and ACT commercial treatment reflects 2025–26 changes. Commercial and industrial property is handled differently in some places: SA has abolished duty on it, the ACT exempts it up to a threshold, and Victoria is moving it to an annual tax. The filled figure also adds the land-titles-office fees to register the transfer, and the mortgage where a loan is entered; the seller pays to discharge their own mortgage, so that is not included. Thresholds in several states index each year, and this excludes foreign purchaser surcharges, landholder / land-rich duty and any concession. Confirm the exact amounts with the relevant state revenue office and titles registry.
Bank fees and the valuation ordered for finance.
Building and pest, and any specialist reports.
Due diligence, buyer's agent and adviser fees, and anything else.
Money spent on works to add value (refurbishment, re-leasing costs, etc.), added to cash required up front alongside the other purchasing costs.
Income & holding
Rent after outgoings, before loan interest.
The yield a buyer pays on exit, for local cap rate, yield compression or market shifts. Blank holds the entry yield. Lower than entry lifts value; higher softens it.
Compounds the purchase price each year to estimate the property's value at sale, instead of deriving it from rent.
Debt reduction
Each year, this share of the cash left after interest is used to pay down the loan. The rest is cash you keep.
Value uplift
- Shortfall / surplus
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- Property value at sale
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- Loan balance at sale
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- Net sale proceeds
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- Rental cash kept (total)
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- Return per year (simple avg)
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- Equity multiple
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- Total profit
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- Total ROI
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- IRR (compound)
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Your return
Figures are part-hidden. Unlock the full numbers and one-page PDF below.
Enter your figures above first — there's nothing to download yet.
Project Carter is sent your figures for an assessment only if you request one.
Year by year
| Year | Net rent | Interest | Cash after interest | Debt reduction | Cash kept | Loan balance | Property value | Your equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enter a purchase price, loan interest, rent and term to see the schedule. | ||||||||
Get your ROI summary
The page builds a one-page PDF of your figures and the year-by-year schedule. A copy is sent to Project Carter so we can follow up if you'd like.
Done. Your PDF has downloaded. If it didn't, . Project Carter has your figures and will be in touch if you asked for a follow-up.
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How the numbers work
- Loan and deposit. The loan is the percentage of purchase price you enter. The deposit is the rest.
- Total cash required is the deposit plus stamp duty, loan / valuation cost, legal cost, building inspection, other purchasing cost and any capex / add value investment.
- Stamp duty can be estimated by state: click the field, pick a state or territory, and tick "commercial" if it applies. It fills from that state's published general transfer duty rates for a company or investor purchase, plus the land-titles-office fees to register the transfer and, when a loan is entered, the mortgage. It is an estimate, not the state revenue office's figure, and excludes surcharges and concessions. Commercial and industrial property is treated differently in some places: SA has abolished duty on it, the ACT exempts it up to a threshold, and Victoria is moving it to an annual tax.
- Net rent starts at your Year 1 figure and grows by the rental increase each year. If a value uplift is set, in that year the rent steps to the new base rent and then grows by the new rate from then on.
- Property value depends on the property type you pick. For commercial, value is net rent ÷ capitalisation rate: the cap rate runs straight-line from the entry net yield (Year 1 net rent ÷ price) in year 1 to the exit cap rate you enter by the final year, so you can model local cap rates, yield compression or market softening on sale (leave it blank to hold the entry yield; a rent uplift lifts value too). For residential, value instead compounds the purchase price at the capital growth rate you enter, since a home's value is not usually read off its rent.
- Each year: interest is charged on the opening loan balance; the cash left after interest is split, with your debt-reduction percentage paying down the loan and the remainder kept as cash.
- At sale (end of the term) the property is sold at its value that year, the loan is repaid, and net sale proceeds plus all rental cash kept, less the cash you put in, is the total profit.
- IRR is the annual compound return that makes the cash you put in and the cash you take out balance over time.
Common questions
How do I calculate the return on a commercial property investment?
Add up the cash you put in (deposit plus stamp duty and other buying costs), then model each year's net rent less interest, and finally the sale proceeds after repaying the loan. Total profit is everything you take out less what you put in. The calculator reports total ROI, return per year, equity multiple and IRR from that year-by-year schedule.
What is IRR and why is it different from ROI?
ROI is total profit as a percentage of the cash you put in. IRR is the annual compound return that makes the cash you put in and the cash you take out balance over time, so it rewards getting money back sooner. Two deals with the same ROI can have very different IRRs.
How is a commercial property's value worked out on sale?
For commercial property, value is net rent divided by the capitalisation rate. The cap rate moves in a straight line from your entry yield to the exit cap rate you enter, so you can model yield compression or a softer market at sale. Residential value instead grows at the capital growth rate you enter.
What is a value uplift?
A value-add step such as a new lease, refurbishment or rezoning that lifts the rent. Set the year, the new base rent and the new growth rate, and the rent (and so the commercial value) steps up from that year on. Any capex spent to achieve it is added to the cash you put in.
Is this ROI calculator financial advice?
No. It is a planning model built from the figures you enter, and the stamp duty figure is an estimate rather than a revenue office figure. Speak to Project Carter, your accountant or a licensed adviser before acting on it.