How much passive income will I get from shares vs. property?

We compare current rental yields across Australia to some of the best dividend-paying ASX shares.

Woman relaxing on her phone on her couch, symbolising passive income.

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Passive income is one of the greatest benefits of investing because it is generated while you sleep.

All you need to do is hold the asset and the passive income will simply flow into your bank account.

How lovely.

But how much passive income will you get by investing in ASX shares vs. property?

Well, this is going to be fun.

Let's compare the current gross rental property yields on offer around the country vs. the dividend yields being paid by some of the best income shares on the ASX.

Ready?

Shares vs. property passive income comparisons

Let's start with the passive income on offer from investment property around Australia today.

The first thing to note is that rents have skyrocketed by an average of 9.1% per year for the past three calendar years, according to CoreLogic data.

That means landlords have received a near-30% boost to their passive income over this short period.

CoreLogic's national median rent reached $601 per week in December. This equates to a median annual passive income of $31,252 a year.

Back in August 2020, the median rent was $437 per week. So, landlords are now receiving $8,000 more in median passive income today on the same unimproved asset.

Several factors have contributed to this unusually large rise in rents.

Among them are reduced household sizes (i.e., fewer people per dwelling) and big population growth driven by migration.

There was also a notable decline in investor purchases and a rise in the number of investors selling for a period last year.

Longer-term factors are also in the mix, such as a reduction in social housing supply and wages growth not keeping up with rental growth.

So, here's the state of play on passive income via shares vs. property.

Rental returns of houses

Here are the current gross rental yields of houses across the country.

MarketGross yieldMarketGross yield
Sydney 2.7%Regional NSW4%
Melbourne3.1%Regional VIC3.9%
Brisbane3.6%Regional QLD4.5%
Adelaide3.7%Regional SA5%
Perth4.4%Regional WA6.2%
Hobart4.2%Regional TAS4.5%
Darwin6.1%Regional NT6.8%
Canberra3.7%
Source: Hedonic Home Value Index, CoreLogic, March 2024

Rental returns of apartments

Here are the current gross rental yields of apartments across Australia.

MarketGross yieldMarketGross yield
Sydney4%Regional NSW4.4%
Melbourne4.5%Regional VIC4.7%
Brisbane5.1%Regional QLD4.9%
Adelaide5%Regional SA5.1%
Perth6.2%Regional WA8.7%
Hobart4.6%Regional TAS4.9%
Darwin7.4%Regional NTn/a
Canberra5.1%
Source: Hedonic Home Value Index, CoreLogic, March 2024

Passive income via dividends

As you can see above, rental yields are generally pretty strong. But remember these are gross yields, which means all the holding costs associated with property investment have not been deducted.

That's a key difference between shares vs. property — there are no ongoing holding costs with stocks.

Now, let's discuss dividend yields and compare them to the rental yields above.

The average dividend yield for S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares is 4% per annum.

If you only own ASX 200 stocks with 100% franking, then your average gross yield goes up to 5.7% per annum.

That's pretty comparable with many of the property markets showcased above, especially apartments.

But some ASX shares pay a lot more.

Let's take a look at the dividend yields on the top 10 ASX 200 stocks.

ASX 200 share ranked by market capitalisationDividend yield
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) 5.7%
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) 3.84%
CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) 1.44%
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) 4.94%
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) 5.33%
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) 5.53%
Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG)8.64%
Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) 3.17%
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) 2.95%
Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) 1%
Yield calculated ex-franking using CommSec consensus analyst estimates for 2024 dividend payments for each company and the share price of each ASX 200 stock at the time of writing.

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Anz Group, BHP Group, CSL, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia, Goodman Group, and Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL, Goodman Group, Macquarie Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Macquarie Group and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended CSL and Goodman Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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