Annual rental income divided by purchase price, before service charges or costs. A headline number, not a useful one.
Gross rental yield is the annual gross rental income divided by the property's purchase price, expressed as a percentage. It ignores service charges, agency fees, maintenance, vacancy, and any other operating costs.
Most listing brochures show gross yield because it always looks better than net. The gap on a typical Dubai apartment is 1.5 to 2.5 percentage points. An 8 percent gross can be a 5.8 percent net. Mario only quotes net to clients, and his standard practice is to share both numbers side by side so the buyer sees the real return, not the marketing number.
Mario walks every European investor through these mechanics on the first call. The diligence trail is what separates a clean deal from a regret.