[Real Estate Investment Survey] 80% Make Purchase Decisions Based Solely on 'Gross Yield'? Almost All Face 'Unexpected Financial Outcomes' After Operation
A survey by Propally Inc. revealed that 80% of real estate investors make purchase decisions based solely on gross yield, and almost all of them face unexpected financial outcomes after operation. Many investors regret these decisions.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 8, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 8, 2026 at 10:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 9, 2026 at 02:17 (15h 45m after Collected)
Propally Inc. (https://propally.co.jp/), headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, and led by Representative Iori Saito, which develops and operates a real estate investment platform, conducted a survey targeting active real estate investors aged 20-59 nationwide. The aim was to clarify the reality of purchase decisions in real estate investment and post-operation financial outcomes. This survey found that purchase decisions relying solely on gross yield create a gap between expectations and actual financial outcomes after operation, leading many investors to regret their past judgments.
**Survey Summary**
The overview of the survey results is as follows:
1. 80.0% of real estate investors have experience making property purchase decisions based solely on 'gross yield'.
2. The most common reason for judging solely by gross yield was the misconception that 'high yield equals high profit' (27.5%), with various other factors such as 'lack of calculation environment' and 'lack of knowledge' following closely.
3. 98.3% of those who judged solely by gross yield faced unexpected financial outcomes, with 'taxes' (33.3%) and 'increase in management fees' (32.9%) being common.
4. 68.7% of respondents regretted making decisions based solely on gross yield.
**Survey Implementation Overview**
Survey organization: Self-conducted survey
Survey method: Internet survey (iBridge Inc. 'Freeasy')
Target area: Nationwide in Japan
Target audience: Real estate investors aged 20-59 (those operating residential properties)
Survey period: April 27, 2026
Valid responses: 300 people
* Property types for investment include condominium units, entire apartment buildings, entire condominium buildings, and detached houses.
* Pre-screening was allocated according to population composition ratio. In this main survey, allocation was performed based on the appearance rate of applicable conditions in the pre-screening.
* Percentages in this press release's survey results and graphs are rounded, so the total may not be 100%.
**Main Survey Results**
1. **80.0% of real estate investors have experience making property purchase decisions based solely on 'gross yield'.**
To what extent are financial calculations performed before purchasing real estate? First, we asked current real estate investors whether they had ever made an investment decision based solely on the 'gross yield' figure, without performing detailed financial calculations including maintenance costs at the time of property purchase.
The response rate shows that 'yes' accounted for a large majority at 80.0%. In contrast, 'never' remained at 15.0%.
This result indicates that the vast majority of investors have experienced not performing detailed calculations, including maintenance costs, at the initial stage of property purchase. It suggests a tendency for easily understandable indicators like gross yield to have a significant impact on investment decisions, rather than complex and difficult-to-calculate detailed financial simulations.
2. **The most common reason for judging solely by gross yield was the misconception that 'high yield equals high profit' (27.5%), with various other factors such as 'lack of calculation environment' and 'lack of knowledge' following closely.**
So, why do many investors avoid detailed calculations and judge solely by gross yield? The following graph shows the specific reasons given by those who have experienced judging by gross yield.
Looking at the percentages for each item, the most common reason was "I mistakenly believed that 'high yield equals high profit'" at 27.5%. This was followed by "Lack of tools or environment for easy detailed calculations" (26.7%) and "Did not grasp how much maintenance costs and taxes would be" (26.3%).
Furthermore, "Optimistically viewed future rent declines and vacancy risks" (25.0%) and "Strongly recommended by a real estate agent" (25.0%) were also in the mid-20% range, indicating small differences between the top and bottom reasons.
It is clear that the reasons are not heavily skewed towards any single factor, but rather a variety of factors such as misconceptions, lack of knowledge, and simply not having an environment to perform calculations. There are various hurdles to performing detailed calculations, and as a result, there seems to be a situation where investors tend to rely on the easily understandable indicator of gross yield.
3. **98.3% of those who judged solely by gross yield faced unexpected financial outcomes, with 'taxes' (33.3%) and 'increase in management fees' (32.9%) being common.**
What kind of problems do investors face after starting operation if they purchased a property without detailed calculations? Continuing, we asked those who had experienced judging solely by gross yield about unexpected financial outcomes after purchase.
The responses show that, excluding "Nothing unexpected" (1.3%) and "Don't know" (0.4%), 98.3% of the total responded with some kind of unexpected outcome. If decisions are made solely based on gross yield, almost all investors will face unexpected financial outcomes.
**Survey Summary**
The overview of the survey results is as follows:
1. 80.0% of real estate investors have experience making property purchase decisions based solely on 'gross yield'.
2. The most common reason for judging solely by gross yield was the misconception that 'high yield equals high profit' (27.5%), with various other factors such as 'lack of calculation environment' and 'lack of knowledge' following closely.
3. 98.3% of those who judged solely by gross yield faced unexpected financial outcomes, with 'taxes' (33.3%) and 'increase in management fees' (32.9%) being common.
4. 68.7% of respondents regretted making decisions based solely on gross yield.
**Survey Implementation Overview**
Survey organization: Self-conducted survey
Survey method: Internet survey (iBridge Inc. 'Freeasy')
Target area: Nationwide in Japan
Target audience: Real estate investors aged 20-59 (those operating residential properties)
Survey period: April 27, 2026
Valid responses: 300 people
* Property types for investment include condominium units, entire apartment buildings, entire condominium buildings, and detached houses.
* Pre-screening was allocated according to population composition ratio. In this main survey, allocation was performed based on the appearance rate of applicable conditions in the pre-screening.
* Percentages in this press release's survey results and graphs are rounded, so the total may not be 100%.
**Main Survey Results**
1. **80.0% of real estate investors have experience making property purchase decisions based solely on 'gross yield'.**
To what extent are financial calculations performed before purchasing real estate? First, we asked current real estate investors whether they had ever made an investment decision based solely on the 'gross yield' figure, without performing detailed financial calculations including maintenance costs at the time of property purchase.
The response rate shows that 'yes' accounted for a large majority at 80.0%. In contrast, 'never' remained at 15.0%.
This result indicates that the vast majority of investors have experienced not performing detailed calculations, including maintenance costs, at the initial stage of property purchase. It suggests a tendency for easily understandable indicators like gross yield to have a significant impact on investment decisions, rather than complex and difficult-to-calculate detailed financial simulations.
2. **The most common reason for judging solely by gross yield was the misconception that 'high yield equals high profit' (27.5%), with various other factors such as 'lack of calculation environment' and 'lack of knowledge' following closely.**
So, why do many investors avoid detailed calculations and judge solely by gross yield? The following graph shows the specific reasons given by those who have experienced judging by gross yield.
Looking at the percentages for each item, the most common reason was "I mistakenly believed that 'high yield equals high profit'" at 27.5%. This was followed by "Lack of tools or environment for easy detailed calculations" (26.7%) and "Did not grasp how much maintenance costs and taxes would be" (26.3%).
Furthermore, "Optimistically viewed future rent declines and vacancy risks" (25.0%) and "Strongly recommended by a real estate agent" (25.0%) were also in the mid-20% range, indicating small differences between the top and bottom reasons.
It is clear that the reasons are not heavily skewed towards any single factor, but rather a variety of factors such as misconceptions, lack of knowledge, and simply not having an environment to perform calculations. There are various hurdles to performing detailed calculations, and as a result, there seems to be a situation where investors tend to rely on the easily understandable indicator of gross yield.
3. **98.3% of those who judged solely by gross yield faced unexpected financial outcomes, with 'taxes' (33.3%) and 'increase in management fees' (32.9%) being common.**
What kind of problems do investors face after starting operation if they purchased a property without detailed calculations? Continuing, we asked those who had experienced judging solely by gross yield about unexpected financial outcomes after purchase.
The responses show that, excluding "Nothing unexpected" (1.3%) and "Don't know" (0.4%), 98.3% of the total responded with some kind of unexpected outcome. If decisions are made solely based on gross yield, almost all investors will face unexpected financial outcomes.