On this page
- Why does Knonau have no official median in any reference year?
- What does the land model show, when Knonau has no official figure otherwise?
- What reduces the property gains tax on a sale in Knonau?
- What matters in Knonau besides the price?
- Is there a value capture levy in Knonau?
- Who notarises a house sale in Knonau?
- Estate agent in Knonau
- Frequently asked questions
- Nearby
Suppose you want to know, before selling, what houses in Knonau have officially cost. For 2025, 2015 and 2007 the cantonal statistics give only the number of sales, no median – and the same for flats.
In 2025 only 6 houses and 7 flats were counted. The canton calculates a middle value only from 15 sales in a year, and Knonau misses that mark for both property types in all three years.
Why does Knonau have no official median in any reference year?
Worked example
Worked example, Knonau: flat at the district median, 10 years of ownership
Assumption: a flat at the median of Affoltern district, bought in 2015 and sold in 2025, without investments or costs. Knonau itself has no median in any of these years.
- Sale price (district median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,150,000
- Purchase price (district median 2015)
- – CHF 847,500
- Property gain
- CHF 302,500
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 110,400
- Reduction for 10 full years: 20%
- – CHF 22,080
- Property gains tax
- CHF 88,320
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 1,061,680
Why does Knonau have no official median in any reference year?
Open-market sales in Knonau stay below the cantonal threshold of 15 in every one of the three reference years. That holds for houses and flats alike.2 In 2025, 6 houses and 7 flats changed hands. In 2015 it was 7 and 2. In 2007 it was 6 and 4.
This is not a one-year gap. None of the six data points – two property types, three years – reaches enough sales for an official figure. Sellers in Knonau cannot point to any official figure from the village itself, neither from 2015 nor from 2007.
Only Affoltern district, where Knonau lies, shows ten years of development. Its medians mix sales from across the district: CHF 1,150,000 for a flat in 2025, CHF 847,500 in 2015.2 What this means for you: the district figure sets a direction; it is not a price for your house or flat in Knonau.
What does the land model show, when Knonau has no official figure otherwise?
Land offers an anchor, even without a house median. The cantonal model puts residential building land in Knonau at CHF 1,550 per square metre for 2025.8 In 2015 it was still CHF 956, a rise of 62.1 per cent in ten years. Typically the model ranges from CHF 1,079 to CHF 2,212 per square metre.
A second measure exists only for the canton as a whole. Residential building land sold for a median of CHF 1,742 in 2021 to 2025, and only CHF 800 in 2011 to 2015.8 One is a model, the other a median of real sales. For Knonau, both are only a rough frame, not a price.
The model only estimates undeveloped land, not your own plot and not the building on it. For a house in Knonau, the building comes on top, with its age, condition and fit-out, derived from the property itself.
What reduces the property gains tax on a sale in Knonau?
The property gains tax follows the same tariff across the canton; Knonau only levies it.1 The first CHF 4,000 of gain are taxed at 10 per cent, the part above CHF 100,000 at 40 per cent. Ownership works the other way: a 20 per cent reduction in the example after 10 full years.
The reduction is highest from 20 full years, 50 per cent. Then only CHF 55,200 would be due instead of CHF 88,320.1 Owners of over 20 years may also replace the purchase price with the market value of 20 years ago. Documented value-enhancing investments also reduce the gain; maintenance does not.
Put the proceeds into a new, owner-occupied home in Switzerland, and the tax can be deferred. The old home must also have been self-occupied.1 If the new home costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxable at once. If its price is no higher than the old purchase price and investments, there is no deferral.10 Deferred does not mean waived.
| Indicator | Knonau | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Houses sold on the open market | 6 (no median; 2015: 7, 2007: 6) | 2025 |
| Flats sold on the open market | 7 (no median; 2015: 2, 2007: 4) | 2025 |
| Median flat price, Affoltern district (217 sales) | CHF 1,150,000 (2015: CHF 847,500) | 2025, provisional |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 1,550 (2015: CHF 956) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 2,514, of whom 406 (16.1%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 116% / 211% | 2026 |
| Train from Knonau to Zürich HB | from 36 minutes (S 5, no change) | October 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | none today (revision pending) | 23.10.2026 |
What matters in Knonau besides the price?
From Knonau station the S 5 runs direct to Zürich HB, with no changes, from 36 minutes.5 16.1 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 406 of 2,514 people; 4.5 per cent are 80 or older.4
Knonau taxes income and wealth at 116 per cent, 211 per cent together with the canton.3 On the same income and wealth, Affoltern am Albis means about 3 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax, Mettmenstetten about 9 per cent less.
Is there a value capture levy in Knonau?
Knonau charges no municipal value capture levy today: its current building and zoning regulations contain no value-capture article.6 On 4 December 2025 the municipal assembly adopted a partial revision with a new article.7 According to the cantonal overview (as of 10 October 2026), it has only been pre-reviewed, not approved and not brought into force. Until it applies, no municipal levy arises even on upzoning or rezoning; the building department can confirm the current status.
The cantonal levy applies regardless. If land is newly zoned for building, the canton charges 20 per cent of the increase in value, small gains exempt.9 The same applies when a zone for public buildings is rezoned. With new zoning, the levy falls due as soon as a sale takes place, so it belongs in the purchase contract. Background is in the guide value capture levy.
Who notarises a house sale in Knonau?
Knonau belongs to the Affoltern notarial district.11 The responsible office is the Affoltern notary, land registry and bankruptcy office at Sagistrasse 8b, 8910 Affoltern am Albis. It notarises the purchase contract and registers the transfer in the land register. More in the guide notary and land register.
Six data points without a median call for a derivation you can check. I separate district value, land model and building and calculate what remains for you after tax.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Knonau
Selling in Knonau with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Knonau. 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 Knonau worth?
What else do owners in Knonau ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Knonau?
Ask how anyone derives a figure when all six possible medians are missing. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Make sure land and district value are derived separately from your own property and the tax is calculated with your own purchase date. A list for the first meeting: the 12 checking questions.
Which purchase price counts if I inherited the house in Knonau?
The inheritance itself does not yet trigger property gains tax. On a later sale, the purchase price and purchase date of the deceased person generally count. What else applies when inheriting is explained on the inheritance page.
Will selling in Knonau cost me a value capture levy?
Not today: the municipality does not yet charge one, and according to the canton the adopted revision is not yet in force. If land was newly zoned for building, the canton charges its own levy of 20 per cent of the increase in value, small gains exempt.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 216(3)(i), 219, 220(2), 221, 225, 226 (Nachtrag 132), in German · as of 1.4.2026, retrieved 23.10.2026
- 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 23.10.2026
- 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 23.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Knonau, Bahnhof – Zürich HB (S 5, no change), fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 23.10.2026 for 27 and 29.10.2026
- Municipality of Knonau: current building and zoning regulations (no value-capture article), in German · retrieved 23.10.2026
- Municipality of Knonau: partial revision with new art. 39 (value capture levy), adopted by the municipal assembly, in German · adopted 4.12.2025, pre-reviewed, not approved according to the cantonal map (as of 10.10.2026), retrieved 23.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: property prices in the Canton of Zurich (KTZH_00003158), residential building land, model value per municipality, in German · data as of 2025/Q4, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 23.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 2, 4, 10, 19, in German · retrieved 23.10.2026
- Cantonal Tax Office Zurich: Zurich tax manual no. 216.3, replacement purchase, paras 19–25, in German · as of 1.2.2018, retrieved 23.10.2026
- Notary offices of the Canton of Zurich: notary, land registry and bankruptcy office of Affoltern (responsible for Knonau), in German · retrieved 23.10.2026
- 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
