Vacancy-Adjusted Rental Yield Calculator

Vacancy-adjusted yield

The headline yield assumes the unit is always rented. In practice it almost never is, so the realistic figure pulls out the vacancy you actually expect: adjusted yield = yield × (1 − vacancy%). Take a residential gross yield of 6.0%. Assume 10% vacancy, which works out to roughly 1.2 months a year sitting empty once you count the gaps between tenants, and what you really earn drops to 5.4%. Layer operating costs on top of that and you get a vacancy-and-cost-adjusted number much closer to what shows up in your bank account.

Residential vacancy in Brazil usually runs 8%–12% per year, or about 1–2 months between tenants. Commercial space is far more volatile and can blow past 20% in a recession. The exception is a "stabilized" trophy asset, the kind with a great address, premium tenants and long leases, which tends to sit under 5%. Whatever you do, dig up the historical vacancy from the property's own records, or for REITs/FIIs from the quarterly management report. Beginners skip this number more than any other.

Common applications

Use it to underwrite a purchase honestly before you buy, so you don't fall for the gross-yield trap. It also helps with REIT/FII analysis, where the occupancy rate comes out quarterly and most managers break physical and financial vacancy apart. And it feeds into pricing rent-guarantee insurance, since insurer premiums track regional vacancy data. One more case worth mentioning: negotiating a bulk lease. A corporate tenant who signs five years at a slight discount may net you more than a run of 12-month residential leases that each carry 10% vacancy.

FAQ

Physical vacancy versus financial vacancy? Physical is the % of area sitting empty. Financial is the % of potential revenue you lose, and it folds in discounts, defaults and free-rent periods. For FIIs the financial figure is the more honest one, and you'll find it in the relatório gerencial.

How do I estimate vacancy for a property I haven't bought? Ask the broker for the building's history, look at local market reports like Secovi, Buildings, JLL or CBRE, and if no hard number turns up, fall back on a conservative 10%.

Does rent-guarantee insurance eliminate vacancy risk? No. It pays out for tenant default while the contract is running, but it does nothing for the gap before the next tenant moves in. You still have to budget for those turnover stretches yourself.