Selling property in Oftringen: a new zoning order approved in 2024

Anyone selling in Oftringen will find no official price figure. The Canton of Aargau keeps no median prices by municipality; the Canton of Zurich does. Listing figures for Oftringen show what is asked, not what was paid.

What is on record is the stock: Oftringen has 2,456 buildings with residential use in the Zofingen district. 1,510 of them are single-family houses, or 61.5%. The cantonal figure is 65.9%. Oftringen ranks 14 of 17 in the Zofingen district. In total, Oftringen has 7,012 dwellings. 54.7% were built before 1981, against 51.8% in the canton. 55.5 hectares of 404.1 hectares of building zone are undeveloped, or 13.7% (as of 2022). For the share of undeveloped zone, Oftringen ranks 20 of 196 in the canton.

The price of your house in Oftringen depends on location, plot and building, measured against similar sales. The free assessment gives you a written price range with its reasoning.

The residents' assembly adopted the overall revision of the local plan on 29 March 2022. Additions followed in September 2022 and March 2023. The cantonal government approved the whole package on 8 May 2024.¹³ Today the municipality lists the building zone plan, farmland plan and zoning order as legally in force.¹²

The new order also sets the value capture levy. When land is zoned for building, or rezoned in an equivalent way, a levy of 30 per cent of the gain is due.¹³ An ordinary house sale without a zoning change does not trigger it.

Anyone selling in Oftringen therefore sells under new rules that replace provisions two decades old. Even applications still pending when the order took effect are assessed under the new law.¹³ The previous building order and zoning order dated from 2004.

In Oftringen, 1,344 of 2,456 buildings with residential use date from before 1981. That is 54.7%. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 52, counting from the highest share. In the Zofingen district: rank 11 of 17. Oftringen therefore has a higher share than the canton at 51.8%. Compared with Oftringen, the figure in Zofingen is 70.4%.

In Oftringen, oil or gas heats 1,580 buildings with residential use, 64.3%, against 51.8% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 22, counting from the highest share. For many owners in Oftringen, the heating is therefore a topic.

Records of heating, roof and windows therefore belong in the sale documents for Oftringen. For owner-occupied homes in Oftringen, the imputed rental value and the maintenance deduction end on 1 January 2029.¹ Whether a renovation in Oftringen still pays off first is covered in Renovate or sell.

Oftringen has 15,198 residents. 2,571 of them, 16.9%, are 65 or older, against 19.5% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 165, counting from the highest share. In the Zofingen district: rank 15 of 17. Compared with Oftringen, the figure in Zofingen is 21.0%.

On 1 June 2026, 76 homes in Oftringen were empty, 1.08% of the stock, against 1.05% in the canton. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 126, counting from the lowest vacancy. The rate for Oftringen covers rented and owner-occupied homes, not the supply of houses.

The municipal tax rate of Oftringen is 113%. Among the 196 municipalities in the canton, that is rank 124, counting from the lowest tax rate. How Oftringen compares for the same income and wealth is shown in the municipality atlas. By public transport, Zurich HB is 54 minutes away from the Oftringen, Kreuzplatz stop, with 2 changes.

In Aargau, property gains tax falls with every full year of ownership. The rate drops from 40 per cent in year one to 5 per cent after 25 full years.² After more than ten full years, a house gets at least a flat-rate cost deduction: 80 down to 65 per cent of the sale price.³

If you sell your permanent and exclusive home, you can apply to defer the tax.² You must buy or build a new Swiss home within 2 years before or 3 years after the sale.² Only the reinvested proceeds are deferred.² Deferred does not mean waived: the next taxable sale also taxes this gain.²

Aargau has no classic transfer tax. Instead, the canton charges a land register levy (Grundbuchabgabe) on every sale: 4 per mille of the price.⁴ Buyer and seller are jointly liable; the law does not say who bears it.⁴

Only an Aargau notary (Urkundsperson) may notarise the sale contract.⁵