Valuing your home before a move: what is it actually worth?

Whether you are selling, transferring to a child or registering a right of residence, it all starts with a value – and that is rarely a single number. For initial orientation a hedonic online estimate will do, often free of charge. As soon as the figure has to hold up legally – dividing an estate, an advance on inheritance, valuing a usufruct – you need a market-value appraisal, usually CHF 1 000 to CHF 3 000. The difference between the two is not a matter of comfort; it decides whether the figure is later accepted.

Why is there no single «value»?

Because different purposes require different values. Market value describes what could be achieved on the open market. The bank’s lending value is usually lower, because banks calculate conservatively. The cantonal tax value follows its own rules and is often considerably lower still. All three can be correct at the same time.

Two of them matter when moving in later life: market value for a sale or an estate division, and lending value if a mortgage comes along.

The three valuation methods

Hedonic valuation: the standard for residential property

The method compares your property statistically with prices actually paid for similar ones: location, size, number of rooms, year of construction, standard of finish. It is fast, cheap and usable for standard properties in well-covered regions.

Its limit is condition. A renovated and a run-down house of the same size on the same street return the same estimate – even though CHF 200 000 easily separates them. With long-held family homes, that is precisely the decisive blind spot.

Income approach: for investment properties

Here what counts is the sustainable rental income, capitalised at an interest rate. A simplified example: sustainable net rental income of CHF 60 000 a year at a capitalisation rate of 4 % gives an income value of CHF 1 500 000.

This shows how sensitive the method is: half a percentage point difference in the capitalisation rate changes the value by well over a hundred thousand francs. It becomes relevant to you if the house contains a let secondary flat.

Cost approach: for special cases

Land plus building value less depreciation for age. This method comes into play where comparables are missing – unusual properties, thinly populated regions, or listed buildings.

What online valuations do – and where they stop

Use them as a starting point, not as a basis. They show you the order of magnitude, and for initial planning that is worth a lot: will the proceeds cover the senior apartment? Will anything be left after repaying the mortgage?

Do not rely on them once several people depend on the figure. Three estimates from three portals differing by CHF 150 000 are not a malfunction but the normal case.

When an appraisal really pays

A market-value appraisal by a certified valuer usually costs CHF 1 000 to CHF 3 000 depending on the property and region. In later-life housing there are four situations where that almost always pays for itself:

Transfer to a child. If the property is transferred below market value, the difference counts as a gift and must be brought into account when the estate is divided. Without a defensible figure at the time of transfer, the siblings later argue about a number nobody can reconstruct. Details in the guide on passing on property.

Dividing an estate among several children. Agree beforehand on a neutral professional, a method and a valuation date. Separate appraisals commissioned by individual heirs almost always lead to conflict.

Right of residence or usufruct. Their value is calculated from capitalised use, essentially local rental value and statistical life expectancy. That amount reduces market value – and tax consequences and statutory shares depend on it.

Before a sale where the price is delicate. The asking price is the single most consequential decision in the whole sale; more in Adapt or sell?.

The main value drivers

Driver	Effect	Within your control?
Location and everyday access	strongest	no
Condition of roof, heating, windows	high	yes, before a sale
Layout and number of rooms	high	limited
Energy performance, GEAK	increasing	yes
Accessibility	rising, driven by demand	yes
Outdoor space, garden	medium	partly

On accessibility: an age-friendly conversion generally counts at least partly as value-adding. More important than the effect on price, though, is the tax effect: documented value-adding investments reduce the property gains tax on a later sale. Keep every invoice – including the one from the bathroom refit twelve years ago.

Five steps to a realistic figure

1. Clarify the purpose. Orientation, sale, transfer or estate division – that determines what you need.
2. Get two or three online estimates and note the range, not the average.
3. Gather the paperwork: land register extract, building plans, receipts for value-adding investments, GEAK if available.
4. Commission an appraisal if needed – and where several people are involved, agree on the valuer together first.
5. Net off the costs. What is left of the proceeds also depends on transfer tax and property gains tax – see purchase costs when downsizing.

Summary

• There is no single value but several for different purposes – market value, lending value, tax value.
• Hedonic online estimates are fine for orientation but do not know the condition of your house.
• An appraisal at CHF 1 000 to CHF 3 000 pays for itself for transfers, estate divisions, usufructs and delicate sales.
• With several heirs: agree on a neutral professional together before anyone values anything.
• Keep receipts for value-adding investments – they reduce property gains tax later.