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Take a house that has stood for more than thirty years. The kitchen is old, so is the bathroom, but the garden is large. And at some point someone says: «The house is showing its age, that pushes the price down.»
Perhaps. But something else happened in Uster over the same years. The canton estimates residential building land here at CHF 2,203 per square metre in 2025, 87 per cent more than in 2015. Looking only at kitchen and bathroom means overlooking the land. By these figures, it has risen faster than house prices.
How much of that lies in the land, and what does it mean for the tax?
Worked example
Worked example, Uster: house, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Uster median for single-family houses, without investments or costs. Your own house will differ, depending on plot, condition and purchase price.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,630,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 722,500
- Property gain
- CHF 907,500
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 352,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 155,056
- Property gains tax
- CHF 197,344
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 1,432,656
What is the land under an older house in Uster worth?
The canton's land price model gives a reference point. It estimates what undeveloped residential building land costs on average in a municipality.10 For Uster it gives CHF 2,203 per square metre in 2025. Ten years earlier it was CHF 1,178, a rise of 87 per cent.
Houses rose less. The median single-family house went from CHF 1,250,000 in 2015 to CHF 1,630,000, an increase of 30 per cent.2 Dividing the house price by the plot area, buyers paid a median of CHF 3,635 per square metre of land in 2025, house included.
What this means for you: with an older house on a generous plot, comparing it with other house prices is not enough. Land and building should be valued separately. Only then can you see what really sets the price. Is it the condition of the house, or the land beneath it?
How does the property gains tax treat a high land value?
In full. The tax does not ask whether the gain lies in the land or in the building. It taxes the whole gain. That is the sale price minus the purchase price and value-adding investments.1 In the median example that is a gain of CHF 907,500 and tax of CHF 197,344.
Two levers act directly on that figure. From 20 full years of ownership the tax is halved, in the example to CHF 176,200.1 Did you buy more than 20 years ago? Then you may use the market value from 20 years ago instead of the old purchase price.1 For very old purchases this can lower the gain considerably.
What this means for you: dig out the purchase contract and the invoices for larger renovations. With them it can be established which of the two levers applies to you, and how much it is worth. If a receipt is missing, asking the tradespeople or the land registry can help.
| Indicator | Uster | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (47 sales) | CHF 1,630,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (123 sales) | CHF 1,100,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (37 / 129 sales) | CHF 1,250,000 / CHF 915,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 2,203 (2015: CHF 1,178) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 36,941, of whom 6,956 (18.8%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 112% / 207% | 2026 |
| Train from Uster to Zürich HB | from 14 minutes (S 15) | 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 30% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force since 25.03.2022 |
How well can houses and flats in Uster be compared?
Quite well; the market is broad. In 2025, 47 single-family houses and 123 condominiums were sold on the open market.2 The condominium median was CHF 1,100,000. That is 8 per cent less than in the canton and 20 per cent more than in 2015.
For buyers commuting to Zurich, the train matters. From Uster station the journey to Zürich HB takes from 14 minutes, on the S 15.5 Uster has 36,941 residents, 18.8 per cent of whom are 65 or older.4
The municipal tax rate is 112 per cent, 207 per cent including the canton.3 It only affects income and wealth. The gain from the sale is not affected. In Dübendorf you pay about 10 per cent less cantonal and municipal tax on the same income, in Winterthur about 6 per cent more. What this means for you: where you move after the sale changes your tax.
What applies to the value capture levy in Uster?
Since March 2022, Uster has charged its own levy: 30 per cent of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000.6 Plots under 1,200 square metres are generally exempt.6 The levy only concerns the rise in value from upzoning or rezoning, when more may be built than before.
A sale alone triggers nothing; the levy only falls due on development.9 The obligation passes with the plot to the buyer and belongs in the sale contract.8 With a large upzoned or rezoned plot, buyers factor it into their offer. The guide to the value capture levy explains how it works.
Land, building, tax: I value your house part by part and work out what remains after tax. In writing and easy to follow.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Uster
Selling in Uster with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Uster. 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 Uster worth?
What else do owners in Uster ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Uster?
I handle sales across the canton from Zurich, Uster included. Check that someone derives the value rather than just naming it, distinguishes land from building and includes the tax. The 12 questions to ask help you compare.
Is the model price for building land the value of my plot?
No. The model estimates the average price level for undeveloped residential land across Uster. The location, shape, zone and permitted building volume of your plot can differ considerably. Typical values in Uster lie between CHF 1,567 and CHF 3,107. The 2022 to 2025 values are also provisional.
By when must I declare the gain?
Within 30 days of the transfer, when the buyer is entered in the land register. The return goes to the municipal tax office, and the deadline can be extended.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 219, 220(2), 221, 225, 226 (Nachtrag 132), in German · as of 1.4.2026, retrieved 14.10.2026
- 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 14.10.2026
- 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 14.10.2026
- SBB online timetable: Uster – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 14.10.2026 for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Building and zoning regulations of the City of Uster, art. 55 «Mehrwertausgleich» (partial revision of 25.03.2022), in German · in force since 25.03.2022, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Building Department, Canton of Zurich: status of value capture levies in the municipalities (map), in German · retrieved 14.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 6, 7, 19, 20, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), § 21, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Canton of Zurich, Office for Statistics and Data: property prices in the Canton of Zurich, residential building land in CHF/m² (KTZH_00003158), in German · transfer statistics 2025/Q4, published 4.5.2026, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- 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
