When playing Monopoly it can be tricky to know which color sets are worth purchasing. But learning the strategy to use with each set of properties can certainly help you to win more often.
This guide is all about the Yellow properties. I’ve collated all of the mathematical stats and will show you when you should buy the Yellow streets, and when you should leave them for someone else.
What are the Yellow properties in Monopoly?
The names of the Yellow Monopoly cards are different in the different versions of Monopoly and in different countries of the world. But I’m guessing you’re most interested in classic Monopoly…
Yellow Monopoly Properties (US):
- Atlantic Avenue
- Ventnor Avenue
- Marvin Gardens
Yellow Monopoly Properties (UK):
- Leicester Square
- Coventry Street
- Piccadilly
The property set is sometimes known as the ‘Yellow Avenue’ in Monopoly instead of the Yellow set.
There are generally always three Yellow properties in Monopoly. However, in Monopoly Mega Edition, you’ll find four Yellow properties on the board:
- Atlantic Avenue
- Ventnor Avenue
- Marvin Gardens
- California Avenue
See Monopoly Mega Edition on Amazon
Yellow Monopoly property prices
The Yellow color set is the third most expensive color set on the Monopoly board, behind the Dark Blue properties and the Green properties.
Cost to buy Yellow properties
In the US Classic Edition of Monopoly, Atlantic Avenue and Ventnor Avenue both cost $260 to buy, while Marvin Gardens is priced slightly higher at $280. So they’re far from being the cheapest Monopoly property you can buy, but the rent you can charge is higher too.
Suggested read: Monopoly Properties List With Prices
Mortgage value of Yellow properties
When you mortgage any property in Monopoly, you’ll receive half of the purchase price back in cash.
So if you mortgage Atlantic Avenue or Ventnor Avenue you’ll receive $130. If you mortgage Marvin Gardens you’ll get $140.
Cost to build on Yellow properties
Building houses on the Yellow color set costs $150 per house. A hotel costs $150 plus four houses. So, if you wanted to build hotels on all three properties you would need to shell out $2250.
Rent on Yellow properties
The rent that you can charge when another player lands on one of your Yellow properties depends on whether you have a full set and whether you’ve built any houses or hotels.
The Yellow property rent starts at $22 for Atlantic Avenue or Ventnor Avenue and can rise to a maximum of $1200 with a hotel on Marvin Gardens. The rent with the color set starts at $44.
Atlantic Avenue
- Rent: $22
- Full set: $44
- 1 house: $110
- 2 houses: $330
- 3 houses: $800
- 4 houses: $975
- Hotel: $1150
Ventnor Avenue
- Rent: $22
- Full set: $44
- 1 house: $110
- 2 houses: $330
- 3 houses: $800
- 4 houses: $975
- Hotel: $1150
Marvin Gardens
- Rent: $24
- Full set: $48
- 1 house: $120
- 2 houses: $360
- 3 houses: $850
- 4 houses: $1025
- Hotel: $1200
In UK Monopoly, the costs and rents are exactly the same, just that people say £ instead of $.
In some versions of Monopoly, such as Monopoly Electronic Banking, all of the values are multiplied by 10,000. So a rent of $22 would be $220K in this game.
Are the Yellow properties good in Monopoly?
So are the Yellow Monopoly properties worth it, or not? To figure that out, let’s take a dive into the stats to work out the typical return on investment (ROI) of the Yellow set…
ROI of Yellow properties – undeveloped
Initially, the Yellow properties are a good choice. Every time someone lands on your Yellow property you’ll make back around 8.5% of what you paid.
While that sounds quite low, it’s actually one of the best out of all of the color sets, behind only the Greens and the Dark Blues.
However, nobody gets rich with undeveloped properties and you’d need an opponent to land on it twelve times before you make a profit.
ROI of Yellow properties – with houses and hotels
Collecting a full color set and adding buildings is the key to making a decent profit on any Monopoly properties.
Once you add three houses to the Yellow set, your return on investment will average 114% for each property. So once another player lands on each of your Yellows, you’ll be in profit.
With three houses, the Yellow properties have the third-highest ROI of all of the color sets, behind the Oranges (with 116.4%) and the Dark Blues (with 128.2%).
Adding more than three houses to the Yellow properties isn’t really worth it, unless you have spare cash to burn. With hotels, the ROI is 114.8% – little more than it is with three houses (114%).
Chance of landing on the Yellow properties
When choosing which Monopoly color set to collect, you’ll also want to think about how often each property is landed on.
Properties located in high-traffic areas (such as one roll after the Jail space) can be landed on three times as often as some other less-visited squares.
The Yellow set is the third-best Monopoly set in terms of the chance of an opponent landing on the properties. It’s not as popular as the Oranges and Reds, but it is better than the Greens.
This is because people go to Jail a lot in Monopoly. When they get out, there’s a good chance that they’ll land on an Orange space next, followed by Red, then Yellow as they make their way around the board.
Should you buy the Yellow properties in Monopoly?
My detailed analysis of the best Monopoly properties to buy shows that the Yellow set isn’t a bad investment. It’s not great either though.
All things considered, the Yellow properties come in fourth overall, behind the Orange, Dark Blue, and Red color sets.
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of the Yellow properties to work out why…
Pros of buying the Yellow properties
1. High initial return on investment
Whether you own just a single Yellow card or a full set with up to three houses, the return on investment for the Yellow properties is decent.
2. High probability of landing
The Yellow streets are well-placed on the board and so they’ll be landed on more often than many other properties (except the Orange and Red).
Cons of buying the Yellow properties
1. Fairly high cost of houses
As houses on the Yellow properties cost $150 each, you may find it tricky to raise the funds to build more than one or two.
2. It’s not worth building more than three houses
Building more than three houses on the Yellows is something of a waste of money as you won’t earn back much more than what you paid compared to the sweet spot of three houses. So there’s a ceiling on your returns.
The bottom line
The Yellow properties are a good buy, but they’re not the best on the board. If you can complete the set early in the game, you’ll be in a strong position to win.
If you land on a Yellow street, it makes sense to buy it, unless you think that you can get it cheaper at auction. Yellow properties can be valuable trading tools so be sure to take a look at which properties your opponents already have.
