Selling property in Stäfa: what long years of ownership are worth

Two grow with the years. The first is the ownership period. From five full years the tax falls by 5 per cent, and each further year adds 3 percentage points. From 20 years it is halved.¹ In the Stäfa example, it would then be CHF 194,700 instead of CHF 218,064.

The second is the old purchase price. If the purchase was more than 20 years ago, you may use the market value from 20 years ago instead of the old purchase price.¹ Anyone who bought in the 1990s should therefore have this value estimated. Only comparing both calculations shows which option is better.

Then there are receipts from your years of ownership. An extension, a converted loft or an additional bathroom reduce the gain as value-adding investments.¹ Ordinary maintenance does not count. What this means for you: find the old invoices before you fix a sale date.

In 2025 a house cost a median CHF 1,960,000, 23 per cent more than across the canton.² Since 2015 the median has risen by 36 per cent. A condominium cost CHF 1,780,000, 46 per cent more than in 2015. Only CHF 180,000 separates a house from a flat.

For land, the canton shows a strong rise. Its model puts residential building land at CHF 2,991 per square metre in 2025; in 2015 it was CHF 1,500.⁹ That is 99 per cent more. The model typically ranges from CHF 2,117 to CHF 4,218. Across the canton, residential building land changed hands from 2021 to 2025 at a median of CHF 1,742.

In 2025 a house cost a median CHF 4,960 per square metre of plot, building included.² What this means for you: on a large plot it pays to derive the land value separately. With 22 house sales a year, the market is small but measurable.

In Stäfa, 24.7 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 3,752 people.⁴ 8.4 per cent are 80 or older. At this age, a sale can become a family matter. Children ask questions, siblings do their own sums, sometimes someone lives far away.

If a house is inherited rather than sold, the inheritance itself does not trigger property gains tax.¹ If the heirs sell later, what usually counts is the acquisition by the deceased, with their period of ownership. The long years are therefore not lost.

After a sale, the tax rate of your new place of residence counts, for income and wealth.³ Stäfa is at 83 per cent, 178 per cent including the canton. In Erlenbach you pay about 4 per cent less cantonal and municipal tax on the same income, in Männedorf about 2 per cent more. What this means for you: one written figure that everyone sees can save many conversations.