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Suppose a house and a flat in Dübendorf were both bought in 2015 at the median of the time. The house for CHF 1,235,000, the flat for CHF 955,000. Ten years later, both owners ask what their property is worth today.
The answers could hardly differ more. The house median in 2025 was CHF 1,875,000, 52 per cent higher. The flat median, at CHF 935,500, was slightly below 2015. When you sell, the difference shows a second time: in the tax.
What does that mean for house owners, and what for flat owners?
Worked example
Worked example, Dübendorf: house, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Dübendorf median for single-family houses, without investments, costs or replacement purchase. For a flat, the same calculation gives a gain of CHF 337,000 and tax of CHF 69,552.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,875,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 820,000
- Property gain
- CHF 1,055,000
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 411,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 181,016
- Property gains tax
- CHF 230,384
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 1,644,616
Why does a house in Dübendorf pay so much more tax than a flat?
Because houses and flats have grown very differently. The house median rose from CHF 820,000 in 2007 to CHF 1,875,000.2 The flat median rose from CHF 598,500 to CHF 935,500. Since 2015 it has even fallen slightly, from CHF 955,000.
That produces very different gains: CHF 1,055,000 on the house, CHF 337,000 on the flat. The tariff rises with the gain.1 In the median comparison the house therefore pays CHF 230,384 in tax, the flat CHF 69,552. That is more than three times as much. The tariff is the same for both; the gain alone makes the difference.
What this means for you: as a house owner in Dübendorf, the tax is one of the big figures of your sale. As a flat owner it is smaller, but the price matters all the more. With 130 sales a year, buyers have plenty to compare, and the flat median is 22 per cent below the canton.
What does moving from a house to a flat in Dübendorf bring?
On paper, a lot of capital. There are CHF 939,500 between the two medians. A house here costs twice as much as a flat at the median; in the canton it is 1.3 times.2 Anyone who downsizes and stays in the municipality frees up a lot of capital, before tax and costs.
The tax stands in between. Did you live in the house permanently and exclusively yourself? If you then buy or build a home for the same use in Switzerland within a reasonable period, the tax is deferred.1 This applies only to the extent the proceeds are used for it. If the new home costs less, the difference is taxed at once. If it costs no more than the house once did, investments included, there is no deferral.
What this means for you: precisely the capital you want to free up triggers tax. How much depends on the price of the new flat and on the date. It can be calculated before you advertise.
| Indicator | Dübendorf | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (28 sales) | CHF 1,875,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (130 sales) | CHF 935,500 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (30 / 161 sales) | CHF 1,235,000 / CHF 955,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 3,092 (2015: CHF 1,445) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 33,142, of whom 4,937 (14.9%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 92% / 187% | 2026 |
| Train from Dübendorf to Zürich HB | from 12 minutes (S 9) | 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 40% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 19.08.2023 |
What else matters for your sale in Dübendorf?
The land. The canton estimates residential building land in Dübendorf at CHF 3,092 per square metre in 2025, 114 per cent more than in 2015.10 Across the canton, the median price actually paid from 2021 to 2025 was CHF 1,742.10 That is a different measure, so it is only a rough guide. With a large plot, that carries weight.
The train. From Dübendorf station the journey to Zürich HB takes from 12 minutes, on the S 9.5 For buyers who commute, that counts. In Dübendorf, 14.9 per cent of the population are 65 or older.4
The tax rate. It is 92 per cent, 187 per cent including the canton.3 It applies to income and wealth, not to the gain from the sale. In Uster you pay about 11 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax on the same income, in Winterthur about 18 per cent more. What this means for you: check the tax rate of your new home before you move away.
What applies to the value capture levy in Dübendorf?
Since August 2023, Dübendorf has charged its own levy: 40 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000.6 That is the highest rate cantonal law allows.8 Plots under 1,600 square metres are generally exempt.6 The levy only concerns the rise in value from upzoning or rezoning.
It only falls due on development, not on sale.9 If the plot is sold first, the obligation passes to the buyer and belongs in the sale contract.8 For an upzoned or rezoned plot it therefore belongs in the price negotiation. More in the guide to the value capture levy.
House or flat, stay or downsize: I calculate your sale with your purchase price and show which part of the proceeds triggers tax immediately.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Dübendorf
Selling in Dübendorf with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Dübendorf. Through all four phases you have one contact person: me, Dominik Devaja, managing director of Immosmile. You pay nothing beforehand. Our fee falls due only when you sign the contract at the notary (Beurkundung).
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Clarity
Independent valuation, net calculation after taxes and costs, a look at what comes after. You decide on figures, not on hearsay.
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Preview
Before anyone sees your house, film, photography and exposé are produced. Then we show it to vetted buyers first – not yet on the portals.
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Market decision
You receive the demand report and every offer immediately. Then you choose the path to the best price: accept, bidding round – or the broad public phase on the portals, the normal case.
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Completion & move
Notary appointment, key handover, documents for what comes after – and, if you wish, guidance into your next home. Our fee only falls due now, with the notarised deed.
The full process in detail What is your property in Dübendorf worth?
What else do owners in Dübendorf ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Dübendorf?
I work across the canton from Zurich, and Dübendorf is part of that. Ask every provider how they arrive at their price, whether they include the tax and whether you receive the net calculation in writing. More in the 12 questions to ask.
Is my flat worth less than in 2015 because the median fell?
Not necessarily. The median shows the middle one of the flats sold in a year. If more smaller or older flats are sold, it can fall, even if individual flats have gained in value. The 2025 values are also provisional.
Does the value capture levy also apply to my house?
Only if your plot has been upzoned or rezoned. It then counts if it measures at least 1,600 square metres or the gain in value exceeds CHF 250,000. Without upzoning or rezoning there is no municipal levy.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 216(3)(i), 219, 221, 225 (Nachtrag 132), in German · as of 1.4.2026, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: Freihandverkäufe von Immobilien inkl. Medianpreisen seit 2007 (KTZH_00000077) · data as of 2025/Q4, 2023–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: municipal tax rates 2026, in German · as of 24.03.2026, final
- Canton of Zurich, Statistical Office: population by municipality and age (KTZH_00000254) · year 2025, retrieved 14.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Dübendorf – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 14.10.2026 for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Building and zoning regulations of the City of Dübendorf, art. 40 «Mehrwertausgleich», in German · in force since 19.08.2023, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Building Department, Canton of Zurich: status of value capture levies in the municipalities (map), in German · retrieved 14.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 6, 7, 19, 20, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), § 21, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: property prices in the Canton of Zurich, residential building land in CHF/m² (KTZH_00003158), in German · transfer statistics 2025/Q4, published 4.5.2026, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Government Council, Canton of Zurich: RRB No. 42/2026, cantonal tax rate 2026 (95%), in German · dated 14.01.2026
General information without guarantee, not individual advice. The law, the tax assessment and advice from professionals for your situation are what count. Terms of use
