Selling property in Appenzell: only 18 vacant dwellings left

In the Canton of Zurich, the statistical office publishes median prices by municipality. Appenzell Innerrhoden has no such statistics. The canton has five districts, and no authority publishes a median price for any of them, Appenzell included.² What exists is the home ownership rate: the share of occupied dwellings lived in by their owners. In 2024 it stood at 55.8 per cent for the canton.⁹ The figure comes from a sample survey, covers the whole canton and says nothing about price.

Without a median price, the path runs through the individual property: location within the district, plot, condition, fit-out and real comparable sales from the region. A price heard in the village does not replace that work. How it works is shown in having a house valued and having a flat valued. What this means for you: a sale in Appenzell needs land and building valued separately. Back it with real comparable properties, not a figure from a table that does not exist here.

Appenzell Innerrhoden levies property gains tax cantonally, with no district or village multiplier.¹ The rate rises in seven steps. The first CHF 4,000 of gain cost 10 per cent, the part above CHF 100,000 cost 40 per cent. Documented value-adding investments reduce the gain, maintenance does not. On ownership: under three full years, tax rises by 1 per cent per month short. From five full years it falls by 5 per cent, then 3 points more each year, up to 50 per cent from 20 full years.

Owned for more than 20 years? Then the official market value from 20 years ago may replace the purchase price, if higher. Did you live there permanently and exclusively yourself, and do you buy a new home in Switzerland within three years? Then the tax is deferred, as far as the proceeds go into it.¹⁰ Deferred does not mean waived. The cantonal tax administration assesses it. It falls due with the land registry entry; the estimated amount is deposited beforehand.¹

Besides property gains tax, the cantonal transfer tax (Handänderungssteuer) applies. It is 1 per cent of the purchase price plus further consideration, owed by the buyer. The seller remains jointly liable.¹ If no price is agreed, or it is below market value, the market value counts instead.

Notarisation follows a rule that applies across the whole canton. Only the official notary of the Land Registry and Inheritance Office at Marktgasse 2 in Appenzell may notarise. The office keeps the land register for all six land registry districts of the canton.⁷ A notarisation outside this office is not entered in the land register. Fees: 0.1 per cent for notarisation, at least CHF 60. Another 0.1 per cent for the land registry entry, at least CHF 100.⁷

What this means for you: plan the notarisation through this one office from the start. A freely chosen notary, as some other cantons have, does not exist here. That settles who prepares your contract for signature.

On 1 June 2025, 56 of 3,214 dwellings stood empty in the district of Appenzell. That is 1.74 per cent, well above the cantonal rate of 0.93 per cent.⁴ A year later, on 1 June 2026, only 18 of 3,266 dwellings were empty, a rate of 0.55 per cent.⁴ The canton as a whole stood at 0.96 per cent that day.⁵ Appenzell is now below the cantonal rate, after being well above it.

The count covers all empty dwellings, for rent or for sale, single-family houses included. A low rate means: anyone looking for a home finds fewer alternatives. That points to demand at least keeping pace with supply. A single count is only a snapshot, not a price forecast. It says nothing about the location, size or condition of one property.

What this means for you: the low vacancy rate signals a market with little slack, but it does not value your house. A serious assessment links this market picture with your property.