Selling property in Glattfelden: the flat counts, the house does not

By 51 per cent. From 36 sales, the 2015 flat median was CHF 610,000.² In 2025 it reached CHF 920,000, from 38 sales.

The flat median of the district of Bülach rose by 42 per cent in the same ten years. It is based on sales across the whole district. In the Zürcher Unterland planning region it was also 42 per cent. The Glattfelden median has thus risen more strongly than both. It is still about 23 per cent below the cantonal median of CHF 1,200,000, though.

For houses no such comparison is possible; they have no median for 2015 and 2025. A median splits the properties sold into two halves. What this means for you: the flat median describes how the middle of the flats sold has moved. Where your flat lies depends on size, location and condition. For your house it is no yardstick.

Glattfelden taxes income and wealth at 120 per cent, 215 per cent together with the canton.³ Only 12 of the 160 Zurich municipalities have a higher total tax rate, 3 the same, 144 a lower one. On the same income and wealth, cantonal and municipal tax is about 3 per cent lower in Bülach. In Niederglatt it is about 7 per cent lower.

The property gains tax is not affected: it follows a cantonal tariff and is levied where the property lies.¹ What remains of the proceeds in your account does count as wealth, though. Like your income, it is subject to the tax rate of your municipality of residence, after a move that of the new one.

What this means for you: if you move after the sale anyway, the tax rate can be part of choosing where. How much difference it makes depends on your income and wealth. A calculation with your own figures brings clarity before you decide.

Glattfelden levies the tax according to the cantonal tariff.¹ The first CHF 4,000 of gain is taxed at 10 per cent. The part above CHF 100,000 bears the top rate of 40 per cent. In the example, 10 full years bring 20 per cent off; the tax is CHF 90,720.

Each further full year adds 3 percentage points, up to 50 per cent after 20 years.¹ The example tax would then be CHF 56,700. For a purchase over 20 years ago, the market value of 20 years ago may stand in for the purchase price. The gain is also reduced by documented value-enhancing investments; plain maintenance does not count.

If you replace your owner-occupied home with a new one in Switzerland that you also live in, the tax can be deferred.¹⁰ If the new one costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxed at once. If it costs no more than the old purchase price plus investments, there is no deferral. Deferred is not waived.