It stands for cash-on-cash return; the rate of return, for a real estate transaction, that represents the total monetary income (total cash) earned on the monetary amount (total cash) invested in a property. As a metric, the cash-on-cash return relates an investment property’s pre-tax cash flows to the equity investment. For example, it can be calculated as the ratio of the annual return on a property to the amount of mortgage paid in a corresponding year.

Cash-on-cash return (also known as cash yield or equity dividend rate) is an annual measure of a real estate investor’s income from a property (financed by the investor’s equity) related to the amount the investor initially paid to purchase it and prepare it for use.

Cash-on-cash return is one of a number of metrics used by real estate investors to evaluate a property and its current or future profitability.