Selling property in Buch am Irchel: a land model with a small rise

By 12.3 per cent in ten years. In 2015 the cantonal model put residential building land in Buch am Irchel at CHF 494 per square metre.⁷ For 2025 it is CHF 555. Only 2 of the 160 Zurich municipalities saw a smaller rise; 157 saw a larger one. The model typically ranges here from CHF 386 to CHF 806.

Why that is, the model does not say. It is an estimate for undeveloped land, not a price anyone paid. Across the canton, prices actually paid for residential building land had a median of CHF 1,742 per square metre in 2021 to 2025.⁷ The two values are produced in different ways.

For your land, the model value is a reference point, not the price of your plot. The building comes on top separately, with its age, condition and fit-out. With so few sales in the village, both need their own derivation, backed by evidence.

Prices paid for whole properties. In Andelfingen district, the median for flats sold on the open market was CHF 900,000 in 2025, from 129 sales.² Ten years earlier, 100 sales gave CHF 641,000, so the median rose 40 per cent. The district house median rose from CHF 890,000 to CHF 1,273,600, by 43 per cent.

These are different measures from the land model. They are medians from sales across the whole district, not an estimate for building land in one municipality. So the gap between 40 and 12.3 per cent is no catching-up still due in Buch am Irchel.

For your house, the district values are a frame. The statistics do not show which properties were sold where. The flat median serves only for the worked example and is no measure of a house's value. That needs the location, plot and building of your own property.

A single cantonal tariff applies, rising with the gain.¹ Gains up to CHF 4,000 face 10 per cent; anything over CHF 100,000 faces 40 per cent. A small gain thus bears a lower average rate than a large one. In the example, 28.7 per cent of the gain goes in tax.

The longer you own, the smaller the amount. In the example it is CHF 74,400 after 10 full years, CHF 60,450 after 15 full years and CHF 46,500 from 20.¹ Documented value-enhancing investments reduce the gain; mere maintenance does not. After over 20 years, the market value of 20 years ago may be the starting value.

Lived in the home you sell and buying another in Switzerland to live in? Then the tax can be deferred.¹ If the new home costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxable at once. If its price is at or below the old purchase price plus investments, there is no deferral.¹⁰ Deferred does not mean waived.