Rental yield 2026: Dubai vs London, Istanbul, Singapore and New York

Rental yield is the one metric that lets markets with wildly different entry prices be compared directly — the percentage of invested capital an owner collects each year, before and after tax. Across the five biggest markets for an international investor, the 2026 gap is not enormous, but it is large enough to change the decision.

Gross yield by city

City	Gross yield 2026	Rental income tax, non-resident
Dubai	6.3–7.1%	0%
Istanbul	5–9% (average ~7.3%)	progressive income tax
London	3–4%	income tax, up to 45%
Singapore	2–4%	flat non-resident income tax
New York	2.5–5%	federal and state income tax

Dubai leads not because of an exceptionally high gross rate — Istanbul occasionally posts higher numbers — but because of the combination of consistently high yield with zero tax on rental income for an individual. Istanbul's high gross yield is partly eaten up by lira inflation and currency risk: Turkey's central bank was still holding its policy rate at 37% in April 2026 — a sign of how expensive it is there simply to hold capital still.

What the gross figure hides

Gross yield is annual rental income divided by the purchase price, before management costs, insurance, depreciation and tax. In Dubai the gap between gross and net yield is small precisely because there is no income tax or property tax: net yield typically runs 1–1.5 points below gross, reflecting management fees and service charges alone. In London, Singapore and New York, income tax on rent stacks on top of the same operating costs — in the UK it can reach 45% for a non-resident, and in New York federal and state income tax apply simultaneously. After that deduction, the real gap with Dubai widens well beyond what the gross rates alone suggest.

How to read the numbers

None of the five cities is universal. Istanbul suits an investor willing to take on currency and inflation risk for potentially higher nominal returns. London, Singapore and New York are markets for status and diversification, where an investor knowingly pays a premium for jurisdiction and legal predictability, and rental yield is secondary to capital preservation. Dubai is the rarer case where a high gross yield is not eroded by tax on the way in, making the gap between gross and net yield almost cosmetic.

For the tax and price-growth comparison in detail, see "Dubai or London: which is better for an investor".