Selling property in Elgg: a flat median, no house median any more

The reason lies in the number of sales. A median is only published by the canton from 15 open-market sales a year. In 2025, 12 houses changed hands in Elgg, in 2015 only 10 – both too few. Hofstetten has been part of Elgg since 2018.¹³ The canton counts it in every year, 2007 and 2015 included.²

For flats it was the other way round: 60 sales in 2025, 17 already in 2015, so Elgg has had its own median since 2015.² It rose from CHF 683,000 to CHF 787,500, a gain of 15 per cent in ten years.

In Winterthur district the flat median rose by 37 per cent over the same period.² It climbed from CHF 695,000 to CHF 950,000, from 536 sales in 2025. Elgg’s flat median thus rose far more slowly than the district’s. What this means for you: an Elgg house cannot be valued against the flat median. The district figure only shows the direction of the surroundings, not your house price.

The land offers a first clue. The cantonal model puts residential building land in Elgg at CHF 1,055 per square metre for 2025.⁷ That is 57.5 per cent more than ten years ago, when it was CHF 670. The range typically runs from CHF 749 to CHF 1,497 per square metre.

That is not the same measure as the cantonal benchmark. Across the canton, buyers actually paid a median of CHF 1,742 for residential building land between 2021 and 2025.⁷ Model estimate and price actually paid rest on different calculations.

Both figures cover only the undeveloped land, not your own plot and not the building on it. For a house in Elgg, the building adds its age, condition and fit-out. For that there is no official figure since 2015. What this means for you: land and building can only be derived separately, leaning on comparable properties from the region.

The tariff is the same throughout the canton; Elgg only levies it.¹ It climbs in steps, from 10 per cent on the first CHF 4,000 to 40 per cent on the part above CHF 100,000.

Ownership time pulls the other way: after 10 full years, the example earns a 20 per cent reduction. From 20 full years it would be 50 per cent, so CHF 15,600 would be due instead of CHF 24,960.¹ For a purchase over 20 years back, the market value of 20 years ago may replace the purchase price. Documented investments that add value reduce the gain further, though maintenance alone does not.

Buy an owner-occupied home in Switzerland with the proceeds, and the tax can be deferred.¹ The old property must also have been your own home. If the replacement costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxable at once. If it costs no more than the old price and investments, there is no deferral.¹⁰ Deferred does not mean waived.