On this page
- How does a house in Rafz without an official price get its figure?
- What does the flat median in Rafz show since 2015?
- What reduces the property gains tax on a sale in Rafz?
- What matters in Rafz besides the price?
- Is there a value capture levy in Rafz?
- Who notarises a house sale in Rafz?
- Estate agent in Rafz
- Frequently asked questions
- Nearby
Suppose you want to sell your house in Rafz and turn first to the official statistics. You will not find a house median there, not for 2025, not for 2015 and not for 2007. In each of these three years the open-market sales stayed below the threshold of 15, from which the canton publishes a median price at all.
For condominiums the series does not reach back to 2007 either; only 12 flats changed hands that year. Since 2015, though, there is a flat median, and it has climbed sharply since. It serves here as the yardstick for the worked example, not for the value of a house.
How does a house in Rafz without an official price get its figure?
Worked example
Worked example, Rafz: flat, 10 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2015 and sold in 2025, each at the Rafz median for condominiums, without investments or costs. For houses there is no median in any of the three years.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,018,500
- Purchase price (median 2015)
- – CHF 630,000
- Property gain
- CHF 388,500
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 144,800
- Reduction for 10 full years: 20%
- – CHF 28,960
- Property gains tax
- CHF 115,840
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 902,660
How does a house in Rafz without an official price get its figure?
Through the land, and only approximately even then. In Rafz, the cantonal model puts residential building land at CHF 1,008 per square metre for 2025.7 In 2015 it was CHF 675, a rise of 49 per cent. Typically the model ranges from CHF 711 to CHF 1,429 per square metre.
This is a model value for undeveloped land, not a sale price for your plot. For the canton as a whole there is a second measure. Residential building land actually changed hands from 2021 to 2025 at a median of CHF 1,742 per square metre.7 Model and sale price are built differently and only offer a rough sense of scale.
An official house price per square metre of plot does not exist for Rafz either, in any of the three years. The reason is the same: too few sales. What this means for you: value land and building separately. Lean on comparable properties from the region, not on a single figure heard in the village.
What does the flat median in Rafz show since 2015?
A markedly stronger rise than in its surroundings. In 2025, 28 open-market sales produced a median of CHF 1,018,500;2 in 2015 it was CHF 630,000, from 21 sales. That is a rise of 62 per cent in ten years.
In the district of Bülach the flat median rose by 42 per cent over the same period. In the Zürcher Unterland planning region it also rose by 42 per cent. Both figures are the surroundings, not the value of your flat. Despite the sharp rise, the Rafz median remains about 15 per cent below the cantonal median of CHF 1,200,000.
A median separates the flats sold into an upper and a lower half. A value below the canton does not mean your flat is cheap; it can also arise from more smaller or older flats being sold. What this means for you: the rise shows the direction of the village, not the price of a particular flat.
What reduces the property gains tax on a sale in Rafz?
The tariff is identical in every Zurich municipality; Rafz merely levies it.1 It climbs in steps with the gain: 10 per cent on the first CHF 4,000, 40 per cent on the part above CHF 100,000. The holding period works the other way: 20 per cent off after 10 full years.
From 20 full years the reduction is half: CHF 72,400 instead of CHF 115,840 on this gain. After more than 20 years, owners may use the market value of 20 years ago as the purchase price. Documented value-enhancing investments also cut the gain; maintenance does not.
Buy an owner-occupied home in Switzerland with the proceeds, and tax can be deferred.1 You must have lived in the old property yourself. If the replacement costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxed at once. If it costs no more than the old price plus investments, there is no deferral. Deferred is not waived. What this means for you: bring contract and receipts to the first meeting.
| Indicator | Rafz | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median condominium price (28 sales) | CHF 1,018,500 | 2025, provisional |
| Houses sold on the open market | 9 (no median; 2015: 9, 2007: 6) | 2025 |
| Median condominium price (21 sales) | CHF 630,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 1,008 (2015: CHF 675) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 4,784, of whom 1,002 (20.9%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 113% / 208% | 2026 |
| Train from Rafz to Zürich HB | from 38 minutes (S 9, no change) | October 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 25% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 23.09.2023 |
What matters in Rafz besides the price?
From Rafz station the S 9 runs to Zürich HB without changing, from 38 minutes.5 In Rafz, 20.9 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 1,002 of 4,784 people; 5.3 per cent are 80 or older.4
Rafz taxes income and wealth at 113 per cent, 208 per cent together with the canton.3 On the same income and wealth, Kloten means about 6 per cent less cantonal and municipal tax, Winterthur about 6 per cent more.
Is there a value capture levy in Rafz?
Since 23 September 2023, Rafz has levied a municipal value capture levy of 25 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000.6 Plots under 1,200 square metres are exempt, unless the gain in value exceeds CHF 250,000.68 It covers planning advantages that arise from upzoning or rezoning.
The levy only falls due once building starts, not on sale.9 If the plot changes hands first, the obligation passes to the buyer, so it belongs in the purchase contract.8 For a large plot after upzoning or rezoning, that is therefore also a topic for the price negotiation. More in the guide value capture levy.
Who notarises a house sale in Rafz?
Rafz belongs to the Eglisau notarial district.11 The responsible office is the Eglisau notary, land registry and bankruptcy office at Obergass 3, 8193 Eglisau. It notarises the purchase contract and registers the transfer in the land register. More in the guide notary and land register.
Two missing medians are no reason for a figure from the gut. I derive the value of your house from land and building and calculate, with your purchase date, what remains after tax.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Rafz
Selling in Rafz with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Rafz. 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 Rafz worth?
What else do owners in Rafz ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Rafz?
Ask how anyone arrives at a house figure that no statistic provides. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Make sure land and building are derived separately and the tax is calculated with your purchase date. A list for the first meeting: the 12 checking questions.
Which purchase price counts if I inherited the house in Rafz?
The inheritance itself does not 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 Rafz cost me a value capture levy?
The municipal levy, not because of the sale itself. It only hits upzoned or rezoned plots from 1,200 square metres, smaller ones only with a gain in value above CHF 250,000. It only falls due with construction. If it is open, it belongs in the contract with the buyer. Newly zoned land is different: there the canton's levy already falls due on sale.
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 216(3)(i), 219, 220(2), 221, 225 (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 22.10.2026
- 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 22.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Rafz – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 23.10.2026 for 27 and 29.10.2026
- Municipality of Rafz: building and zoning regulations, section 14.1 «Mehrwertabgabe», in German · in force since 23.09.2023, 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 CHF/m², in German · data as of 2025/Q4, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 22.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 6, 19, 20, in German · retrieved 23.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), § 21, 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
- Canton of Zurich: notarial districts and seats of the notary offices (LS 242.5, supplement 119) – responsible for Rafz: Eglisau notary, land registry and bankruptcy office, in German · as of 1.1.2023, address retrieved 15.10.2026
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
