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Suppose you want to sell your house in Zell and look first for the official house median for 2025. It does not exist. Only 13 houses were sold on the open market, and the canton only publishes a median from 15 sales.
In 2015 Zell sat exactly on that threshold with 15 house sales; the median was CHF 720,000 at the time. For condominiums, by contrast, the official series reaches back to 2007, with 25 sales in 2025.
Why is there no house median in Zell for 2025?
Worked example
Worked example, Zell: flat, 18 years of ownership
Assumption: a condominium bought in 2007 and sold in 2025, both times at the Zell median, without investments or costs. Calculated as in the Net Proceeds Report, which lists Zell with flats.
- Sale price (median 2025, provisional)
- CHF 770,000
- Purchase price (median 2007)
- – CHF 245,000
- Property gain
- CHF 525,000
- Tax per tariff, before reduction
- CHF 199,400
- Reduction for 18 full years: 44%
- – CHF 87,736
- Property gains tax
- CHF 111,664
- Remaining after tax, before mortgage
- CHF 658,336
Why is there no house median in Zell for 2025?
Because too few houses were sold on the open market. The canton only publishes a median from 15 open-market sales a year.2 In 2015 Zell reached exactly that number, with 15 house sales and a median of CHF 720,000. In 2025 there were 13, two below the threshold.
This page evaluates the reference years 2007, 2015 and 2025, not the years in between. In 2007, 24 houses changed hands on the open market, enough for a median. A middle value from 13 cases would carry little weight; a few large or new houses could shift it.
What this means for you: for a house in Zell there is no official comparison figure for 2025. The value is derived from the property itself, from location, plot and building, backed by comparable properties from the region. The 2015 median is ten years old and does not replace that derivation.
What does the Zell flat median show since 2007?
It has more than tripled. In 2007 the median of a condominium in Zell was CHF 245,000; in 2025 it was CHF 770,000, both times from 25 sales.2 In between, in 2015, it stood at CHF 535,000, from 35 sales.
From 2015 to 2025 the Zell median rose by 44 per cent. The median of the district of Winterthur, built from sales across the whole district, rose by 37 per cent over the same period. In the Winterthur and surrounding planning region it was 40 per cent. In 2025 the Zell median lies about 36 per cent below the cantonal median of CHF 1,200,000.
A lower median does not mean that every flat in Zell is cheaper. The size and age of the flats sold cannot be read from the median. What this means for you: the long series shows where the median has moved. It does not replace the price of your flat.
What reduces the property gains tax on a sale in Zell?
Zell levies the tax, but the tariff is cantonal and the same everywhere.1 The first CHF 4,000 of gain is taxed at 10 per cent, every franc above CHF 100,000 at 40 per cent. Then the holding period counts: 18 full years bring 44 per cent off, leaving CHF 111,664 in the example.
Two more years would have brought the full 50 per cent on the same gain, CHF 99,700.1 It never goes higher. After more than 20 years, the market value of 20 years ago may replace the purchase price. Documented value-enhancing investments reduce the gain; plain maintenance does not.
If you buy a new home, the tax can be deferred.10 The condition: you live in both properties yourself, and the replacement is in Switzerland. If it costs less than the proceeds, the difference is taxed at once. If it costs no more than the old purchase price and investments together, the deferral lapses. Deferred is not waived.
| Indicator | Zell | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Median condominium price 2025 (25 sales) | CHF 770,000 | 2025, provisional |
| Houses sold on the open market | 13 (no median; 2015: 15, 2007: 24) | 2025 |
| Median condominium price 2007 (25 sales) | CHF 245,000 | 2007 |
| Residential building land per m² (cantonal model) | CHF 524 (2015: CHF 392) | 2025, provisional |
| Residents, of whom 65 and over | 6,846, of whom 1,321 (19.3%) | 2025 |
| Tax rate municipal / total, excl. church | 115% / 210% | 2026 |
| Train from Rikon to Zürich HB | from 41 minutes (S 11, no change) | October 2026 timetable |
| Municipal value capture levy | 25% of the gain in value minus CHF 100,000 | in force |
What matters in Zell besides the price?
Rikon station lies in the village of that name on Zell municipal territory. From there the S 11 runs to Zürich HB without changing, from 41 minutes.5 19.3 per cent of the population are 65 or older, 1,321 of 6,846 people; 6.9 per cent are 80 or older.4
Zell levies a tax rate of 115 per cent, 210 per cent together with the canton.3 On the same income and wealth you pay about 7 per cent less cantonal and municipal tax in Seuzach, about 5 per cent more in Winterthur.
The notarisation is handled by the notary, land registry and bankruptcy office of Turbenthal at Bahnhofstrasse 6, 8488 Turbenthal.11 It also enters the transfer in the land register. More in the guide notary and land registry.
Is there a value capture levy in Zell?
In Zell, article 4 of the building and zoning regulations of 18 September 2023 applies: the municipality levies 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 from upzoning or rezoning.
The wording comes from an earlier partial revision, then as article 3a.9 According to the cantonal overview, the rule has been in force since 16 December 2022. The levy only falls due once building starts. If the plot is sold first, the obligation passes to the buyer and belongs in the purchase contract.8
The cantonal levy applies alongside it: 20 per cent of the increase in value on newly zoned land and on rezoning a zone for public buildings, small gains exempt.8 On newly zoned land it falls due with the building permit or as early as the sale. More in the guide value capture levy.
Two house sales too few, and the official comparison figure is gone. I derive the value of your house from the property itself and show what remains after tax.
Prefer to talk? +41 76 325 11 95 – you speak directly with Dominik Devaja.
Estate agent in Zell
Selling in Zell with Immosmile: four phases, one contact person
I support sales throughout the Canton of Zurich, including Zell. 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 Zell worth?
What else do owners in Zell ask?
How do I find the right estate agent in Zell?
Ask for a written derivation: where does the figure for your house come from if there is no median for 2025? I handle sales across the whole Canton of Zurich. Check that comparable properties and condition are disclosed and the tax is calculated with your purchase date. For the first meeting, the 12 checking questions help.
I inherited a house in Zell: which purchase price is used?
Generally the purchase price and purchase date of the deceased person. The inheritance itself does not trigger property gains tax; it only falls due on a later sale. More on the inheritance page.
Do I have to pay a value capture levy when selling in Zell?
The sale alone does not trigger the municipal levy. It affects upzoned or rezoned plots from 1,200 square metres, smaller ones only with a gain in value above CHF 250,000, and only falls due on building. If it is still open, the purchase contract settles who takes it over. On newly zoned land the cantonal levy can fall due as early as the sale.
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: Rikon – Zürich HB (S 11), fastest connection departing 09:00–09:59 · 2026 timetable, queried 23.10.2026 for 27 and 29.10.2026
- Municipality of Zell: building and zoning regulations, article 4 «Erhebung einer Mehrwertabgabe», in German · regulations of 18.09.2023, 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 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 09.10.2026
- Municipality of Zell: original partial revision «BZO Mehrwertausgleich» (then article 3a), draft on public display, in German · draft 19.01.2021, in force since 16.12.2022 according to the cantonal overview, 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 Turbenthal (responsible for Zell), 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
