Construction Cash-on-Cash Yield Calculator

Cash-on-cash yield separates merchant builders from holders — ratio of stabilized cash flow to total equity.

Stabilized NOI

Annual debt service

Total equity

Cash-on-cash %

0.07%

Annual cash flow

$600,000

Monthly cash flow

$50,000

How the math works

Cash flow = NOI − debt service. CoC = cash flow / equity.

$1.8M − $1.2M = $600k / $8M = 7.5% stabilized cash-on-cash.

How to Use

Enter stabilized noi.
Enter annual debt service.
Enter total equity.
Read cash-on-cash %.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cash-on-cash benchmarks for new development?

Multifamily ground-up: 6–9% stabilized CoC at year 2–3. Class A institutional: 5–7% (lower yield, lower risk). Class B value-build: 8–11%. BTR: 7–10%. Hotel: 8–14% stabilized. Industrial: 6–9%. Office (riskier post-pandemic): 8–14% required to attract capital. Yield-on-cost vs cash-on-cash: YoC at NOI/cost (no debt), CoC at after-debt-service / equity. Refi at stabilization typically lifts CoC 200–400 bps.

How does this impact project budget?

Construction budgets layer hard costs (50–65%), soft costs (15–25%), financing (5–10%), contingency (5–10%), and developer fee (3–5%). Schedule risk often equals or exceeds cost risk — every month delay carries carry cost (interest, real estate tax, insurance, opportunity cost) of 0.5–1.5% of project budget. This calculator quantifies one cost component.

Owner-controlled vs GMP vs CM-at-risk?

Lump sum/GMP: contractor takes risk above guaranteed maximum price, owner pays for change orders. CM-at-risk: open book, fee + GMP, more transparent. Construction management: agent for owner, GC subcontracted directly. Design-build: single accountability, faster but less price competition. Match delivery method to project complexity and owner sophistication.

Schedule and cost contingency?

Standard contingency: 10% of hard cost for entitlement, 5–8% for construction. Schedule contingency: 60–90 days buffer past target completion. Force majeure provisions: weather, material lead time, labor strike, permit delay. Track via critical path method (CPM) schedule. Major lender draws contingent on schedule + cost variance to budget remaining within 5%.