Selling property

Once you have contacted us, we will forward your request to properti. They will then contact you rapidly to discuss the next steps.

As a general rule, owners can sell their property themselves. Whether it’s worth getting additional support depends on their individual needs, knowledge and how much time they want to commit.

The following aspects can help you to make a decision:

• Sales without a broker: many owners decide to organize and oversee the selling process themselves.
• Time commitment: a property sale consists of various steps – from preparing the sales documents and arranging visits to coordinating the completion of the sale. A private property sale takes between 60 and 100 working hours on average, from the initial preparation of the sales documents to the transfer of ownership.
• Market knowledge: specialist support can be useful if you have questions about prices or marketing.
• Management of interested parties: organizing visits, communicating with prospective buyers and negotiating can involve different amounts of time and effort depending on the situation.
• Administrative processes: coordinating with the notary’s office, authorities or other stakeholders is also part of the sales process and can be outsourced to a broker.
• Costs: commission on a success-fee basis is generally charged if you are assisted by a broker. The amount depends on the specific agreement reached. Whether these costs can be taken into account for tax purposes should be checked on a case-by-case basis.
• Responsibility for sales by the owner: when selling property without a broker, owners take responsibility for organizing and handling the individual steps themselves, including checking relevant documents and selecting suitable prospective buyers.

At the end of the day, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. While some owners successfully manage the sale themselves, others appreciate assistance with certain aspects of the sales process. The type of support that’s right for you depends on your personal requirements and goals.

properti connects two worlds: personal on-site support with state-of-the-art, data-driven technology. Owners are assisted by regional real estate experts and can track marketing progress conveniently via a customer portal.

You benefit from holistic support – including everything from sales advice to clarification of the next financial steps. If their property is sold successfully, PostFinance pays the customer CHF 2,000. 

PostFinance’s role: PostFinance acts as an intermediary and forwards your details to properti. The specialists at PostFinance are not actively involved in the sales process. If questions arise during the sales process that concern your contractual relationship with PostFinance (e.g. due to the mortgage or other financial concerns), you can of course contact PostFinance.

properti’s role: properti is your single point of contact for the property sale. You coordinate the sale directly with properti. properti supports you throughout the process, from the preparation of the sales documents and marketing through to the successful completion of the sale.

No. You can seek non-binding advice – even if you’re still looking for guidance and haven’t yet definitely decided to sell.

Yes. You remain free to decide whether to sell your property and under what conditions.

properti assists you with the sales process and gives you transparent information about the current situation. Your personal dashboard at properti gives you constant access to all sales-related activities: from the number of clicks on your adverts and planned viewing dates to the latest negotiation status.

The experts at properti use up-to-date market data and local comparative values to estimate the value of your property. Depending on the situation, the valuation can initially be carried out digitally and supplemented by an on-site market assessment.

As well as obtaining a valuation, you’ll also receive a recommendation on the optimal price positioning and a target price range for marketing your property.

No advance payments are incurred with properti. properti works on a success-fee basis with commission starting from 2.5%, which is only due upon successful completion of the sale. properti also provides advice on other costs related to the sale of property that are not connected with the brokerage mandate, such as real estate gains tax or notary fees.

You benefit from the standard commission conditions with properti. The first on-site market valuation is free of charge for you as a PostFinance customer. PostFinance also reimburses its customers CHF 2,000 towards the commission to be paid to properti on successful completion of the sale.

The following options are for general information purposes and do not replace individual advice. The option that is best for you depends on various factors, in particular your personal and financial situation and the contractual conditions and terms of your existing mortgages.

As a general rule, you have the following options:

• If you sell residential property and purchase a new home at the same time, you can transfer the existing mortgages to the new property provided that the loan-to-value ratio and affordability remain the same.
• If the buyer of your home is interested in taking over the existing mortgage, the bank can check whether the financing can be transferred to the new owner.
• You can pay off the financing early. You may incur a prepayment penalty for doing so. To cover this, both you and the buyer of your property can take out new financing at current interest conditions. It’s best to ask your mortgage financing experts directly.
• The mortgage terms can also be scheduled to match the date of the sale. In this case, all you have to do is cancel the mortgage on time to avoid any prepayment charges.

The amount of real estate gains tax is calculated using three factors: the location of the property, the holding period and the amount of profit. The amount of tax varies from canton to canton. It is generally lower for long holding periods, i.e. long periods between purchase and sale, than for short holding periods. In many cantons, real estate gains tax is also subject to progression, which means that a high profit can be taxed disproportionately more heavily than a low profit.

Find out more in the blog post

Note: this information is for general guidance and is not a substitute for tax advice. The real estate gains tax regulations differ depending on the canton/municipality and individual situation.