On this page
Suppose your house in Wettswil has stood on the same plot for decades. The house has aged, with its kitchen, bathroom and heating. The land underneath, by contrast, has risen in value, and strongly so.
The cantonal model puts residential building land in Wettswil at CHF 3,452 per square metre for 2025. In 2015 it was CHF 1,498, a rise of 130.4 per cent. Only three of the 160 municipalities in the canton show a stronger rise. With an older house, the land can therefore make up the larger part of the value.
How much of a house’s value in Wettswil lies in the land?
Worked example
Worked example, Wettswil: flat, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, each at the Wettswil median for condominiums, without investments or costs. Only 14 houses were sold in 2007, not enough for a median.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 1,320,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 955,000
- Property gain
- CHF 365,000
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 135,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 59,576
- Property gains tax
- CHF 75,824
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 1,244,176
How much of a house’s value in Wettswil lies in the land?
The statistics give no exact split. Two figures provide a pointer. In 2025 a house cost a median of CHF 4,662 per square metre of plot, building included.2 The cantonal model puts bare residential land at CHF 3,452 per square metre.7 Typically the model ranges from CHF 2,439 to CHF 4,916.
The two figures measure different things. They cannot simply be offset. But they show a direction. The house median has risen by 34 per cent since 2015, from CHF 1,590,000 to CHF 2,125,000.2 Over the same period the land model rose by 130.4 per cent.7
What this means for you: with an older house on a large plot, the land belongs at the centre of the valuation. Size, shape, zone and possible floor area all play a part. A buyer who wants to build new works out the figure from the land. A good valuation does the same and shows you how it gets there.
What does the waived value capture levy mean for your plot?
Since 9 January 2026, article 2a of the building and zoning regulations has applied in Wettswil.11 It provides that planning benefits from upzoning or rezoning are not subject to any levy.6 So there is currently no municipal levy on such gains in value.
For sellers this is concrete. If a plot is upzoned or rezoned, more may be built on it. Even then, nobody owes the municipality a share of the gain. Under the current regulations, that also applies to a buyer who builds later. In Wettswil, nobody therefore needs to factor a deduction for such a levy into the price.
The cantonal levy remains. If land is newly placed in the building zone, the canton takes 20 per cent of the increase in value, small gains excepted.8 The same applies when a zone for public buildings is rezoned. With new zoning, the levy falls due on a sale, not only on building.9 What this means for you: the building authority can confirm the status of your plot.
How much tax is due in Wettswil, and what changes if you move away?
In the example, the flat median rose from CHF 955,000 in 2007 to CHF 1,320,000. On the gain of CHF 365,000, CHF 75,824 in tax is due.1 That is 20.8 per cent of the gain. From 20 full years, the same gain would cost CHF 67,700.
The canton sets the tariff for the property gains tax; Wettswil only levies it.1 The tax rate of 89 per cent, 184 per cent including the canton, applies to income and wealth.3 On the same income, Affoltern am Albis means about 18 per cent more cantonal and municipal tax, Obfelden about 16 per cent more. In Uitikon it is about 6 per cent less.
Wealth, such as the proceeds in your account, is also taxed at your new place of residence. What this means for you: if you leave Wettswil after the sale, factor in the new tax rate. The price of the next flat is not the whole story.
| Indicator | Wettswil a.A. | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median house price (22 sales) | CHF 2,125,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median condominium price (19 sales) | CHF 1,320,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Median house / flat (21 / 44 sales) | CHF 1,590,000 / CHF 1,110,000 | 2015 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 3,452 (2015: CHF 1,498) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 5,402, of whom 1,093 (20.2%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 89% / 184% | 2026 |
| Bus and train from Wettswil a.A., Dorf to Zürich HB | from 29 minutes (bus 229, 1 change) | October 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | waived (art. 2a of the zoning regulations) | in force since 09.01.2026 |
What matters in Wettswil besides the price?
Bonstetten-Wettswil station lies on the territory of the neighbouring municipality of Bonstetten. From the Wettswil a.A., Dorf stop, bus 229 runs there. With one change you reach Zürich HB from 29 minutes.5 20.2 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 1,093 of 5,402 people.4
In 2025 a condominium cost a median of CHF 1,320,000, 10 per cent more than in the canton.2 The house and flat medians are CHF 805,000 apart. Moving from a house to a flat locally therefore frees up a lot of capital in the median comparison, before tax and costs.
Where the land carries a large part of the value, the valuation starts with the land. I calculate plot and building separately and show what remains after tax.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Wettswil am Albis
Selling in Wettswil am Albis with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Wettswil am Albis. 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).
-
Clarity
Independent valuation, net calculation after taxes and costs, a look at what comes after. You decide on figures, not on hearsay.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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 Wettswil am Albis worth?
What else do owners in Wettswil ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Wettswil?
Ask how an agent derives the land value and how it is separated from the building. I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. It also matters whether the tax is calculated with your purchase date and the value capture levy is checked against the original. The full list is in the 12 checking questions.
How long do I have to report the property gain?
Within 30 days of the transfer, you file the property gains tax return with the municipal tax office. On request, the deadline can be prolonged.
Is the land value from the model the price of my plot?
No. The model estimates the typical value of undeveloped residential land in the municipality, CHF 3,452 per square metre in 2025. Location, zone, shape, size and access of your plot can shift the value, up or down.
Nearby
Selling property in neighbouring municipalities
Sources
- Tax Act of the Canton of Zurich (StG ZH, LS 631.1), §§ 205, 219, 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: Wettswil a.A., Dorf – Zürich HB, fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried for 20 and 22.10.2026
- Municipality of Wettswil a.A.: building and zoning regulations, art. 2a «Verzicht auf Mehrwertausgleich», in German · retrieved 15.10.2026
- 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 and ranking of the 160 municipalities, in German · data as of 2025/Q4, 2022–2025 values provisional, retrieved 14.10.2026
- Value Capture Act of the Canton of Zurich (MAG, LS 700.9), §§ 2, 4, 10, 19, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Value Capture Ordinance of the Canton of Zurich (MAV, LS 700.91), §§ 20, 21, in German · retrieved 09.10.2026
- Government Council, Canton of Zurich: RRB No. 42/2026, cantonal tax rate 2026 (95%), in German · dated 14.01.2026
- Municipality of Wettswil a.A.: partial revision «kommunaler Mehrwertausgleich», public notice of entry into force, in German · published 09.01.2026, 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
