Selling property in Erlenbach: from house to flat

For houses, the figure stands on narrow ground. In 2025, 16 houses were sold on the open market.² The canton only publishes a median from 15 sales. One sale fewer, and there would be no official figure for 2025. In 2015 there was none; there were 9 sales.

Flats saw twice as many sales: 32 changed hands in 2025. Their median rose from CHF 1,457,500 in 2015 to CHF 2,685,000, by 84 per cent. The house median is almost three times the cantonal one, the flat median more than double.

Medians mix old and new, large and small properties. Whether the jump for flats shows a real rise or a different selection, they do not say. What this means for you: both figures need to be derived from the actual property before you plan a move with them.

At the median, CHF 1,890,000 separates a house from a flat. A house here costs 1.7 times as much as a flat; across the canton it is 1.3 times.² On paper, the move frees up a lot of capital. After tax, less remains.

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 flat costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxed straight away, up to the whole gain. At the medians: CHF 1,890,000 of CHF 2,046,000.

Then there is the order. Sell first, and you know your proceeds but have no flat yet. Buy first, and you may need bridging money until the house is sold. What this means for you: plan the sale, the purchase and the tax as one single calculation.

In the example, CHF 452,368. That is 22.1 per cent of the gain, but only 9.9 per cent of the sale price. The reason: even in 2007 a house here cost a median CHF 2,529,000. A high old purchase price makes the taxable gain smaller.¹ Whoever bought more cheaply back then pays correspondingly more today.

The ownership period still matters. After 20 full years the tax is halved. With the same gain, CHF 403,900 would be due instead of CHF 452,368.¹ Receipts for value-adding investments, such as a conservatory, reduce the gain further. Ordinary maintenance does not count.

The tax rate of 76 per cent only affects income and wealth.³ If you stay in the village, nothing changes. In Stäfa you pay about 4 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax on the same income, in Männedorf about 6 per cent more. What this means for you: your next place of residence belongs in the calculation too.