How Much Can a Seaside Apartment Earn?

The simplest calculation takes the annual rental income and compares it with the purchase price of the property.

But that is only the gross yield.

From the rental income, you then need to deduct costs such as:

• booking platform commissions,
• property management,
• cleaning and preparing the property for guests,
• utilities and internet,
• maintenance and minor repairs,
• insurance,
• local taxes and fees,
• periods when the apartment is not occupied.

Only then do you get a much more realistic view of what the property actually earns.

For holiday apartments, occupancy during the season and the nightly rate are very important.

Two similar properties can produce very different results depending on:

• how far they are from the beach,
• the exact location,
• whether they have parking,
• the view,
• their condition,
• how well the rental is managed.

That is why I would be cautious about general claims that an apartment in a particular location “earns X percent”.

A lot depends on the specific property.

Many people do not buy a seaside apartment purely as an investment.

They want to use it themselves for a few weeks each year and rent it out for the rest of the time.

In that case, it is natural that the net yield will be lower. On the other hand, the owner also gets personal use of the property, which has a value of its own.

That is why, in my view, not every seaside property should be judged by a single percentage.

When comparing two apartments, I would mainly ask:

• What do similar apartments nearby actually rent for?
• How long is the main season?
• What is a realistic occupancy level?
• How much will management and running costs be?
• Will I use the apartment myself for part of the year?
• And above all – how much am I paying for the property itself?

An apartment with higher rental income is not automatically a better investment if it is also significantly more expensive.

There is another part of the result with property – how its value develops over time.

Of course, nobody can guarantee that the price of a particular apartment will rise. When buying, I therefore think it makes sense to look at a combination of:

• rental income,
• the quality and location of the property,
• the option to use it yourself,
• the long-term potential of the location.

My take: it is better to work with a realistic net yield than with an attractive percentage shown in a property listing.

With a specific property, it is then fairly straightforward to look at the expected income and costs and compare it with the alternatives.