The ultimate guide to selling your appartment in Switzerland

Selling a condominium: The basics

Unlike selling a house or commercial property, selling an apartment should be a lot easier - after all, far more people are looking for a condominium than for a detached house or office space. The purchase price is also lower in comparison.

But the reality is often different. Buying an apartment also presents the future owners with questions that you as the seller must be able to answer reliably. In an apartment building, there is also the community of owners. Depending on the situation, this can also lead to rejection in advance, for example if the prospective buyer does not approve of certain decisions or attitudes of the community.

What is my condominium worth?

A decision to sell often starts with the property price determination. You can do this with our Real estate valuation tool independently or have it estimated by a real estate expert. The market value of an apartment is made up of several factors. These include, among others:

The year of construction: Apartments in old buildings and new builds are generally more expensive than apartments from the 1950s to 1970s.

The number of rooms: Depending on the location, smaller or larger apartments can be more desirable.

The floor: Even though first floors and attics find their enthusiasts, most buyers tend to prefer storey apartments, partly because they have security concerns.

Balcony and other features: Apartments with egress options can fetch significantly higher prices.

Amenities: Parking space, communal garden, elevator, basement, etc. - the better and more convenient, the higher the potential price

The location: Cozy in the countryside or at a busy intersection? With good connections or secluded? Low or high taxes? The location sometimes has a massive impact on the value of an apartment

The condition: Is the apartment (and house) well-maintained and in good condition?

Who are you selling your property to?

Why is this important? Depending on the group of buyers, the sales channels to be chosen differ:sometimes the sale by advertisement is more suitable, sometimes the help of an experienced estate agent is helpful. At Engel & Völkers, for example, when selling real estate in publicly advertised and discreetly brokered sales.

So who is interested in a condominium? People who have been renting. People who want to buy an apartment as an investment to rent out. Senior citizens and pensioners who are giving up a larger house in favor of an apartment. How will buyers finance the apartment? Some will pay for the apartment outright; others will need financing.

Depending on the target group you must also be able to answer different questions from these different interested parties. Buying versus renting - this consideration is important for people who are switching from a rented to a condominium for the first time, for example.

Tip for selling rented apartments

If you do not live in your apartment yourself and have tenants, you should ideally consider selling at a time when the apartment is not currently rented.

The background is as follows: Vacant apartments sell for significantly higher prices than rented apartments. This is due to the demand, which is simply much higher for vacant apartments. But renting is not without its problems either: after all, the new owner takes on the responsibilities and duties of a landlord when buying an apartment.

If you would like to sell the apartment while there is still a tenancy, you could of course also make the tenant an offer to buy.

Selling an apartment: renovated or not?

If you are wondering whether or not you should renovate your apartment before selling it, there is no general answer to this question.

Here too, the condition, value and potential buyers play a vital role. Some apartments would lose a lot of their sales value without a high-quality renovation. In some cases, on the other hand, it may be difficult to offset the cost of the renovation through the higher selling price.

From our experience, we can say that the best time to make this decision is during the valuation of the property. In practice, a mixed solution has often proved successful: Sellers renovate some parts of the property and leave others in their current condition. The buyer may also want to adapt some parts to their wishes.

As already mentioned, it really is worth taking a close look at the requirements and interests of potential buyers and, of course, the value of the property.

Final tips on selling an apartment

Before selling, however, it is particularly important that your documentation on the apartment is complete and comprehensive. You need informative yet attractive pictures of the property, a clear exposé, an extract from the land register, the energy certificate and much more.

Anyone selling an apartment as a private individual can benefit from hiring a professional estate agent, as they not only know the market and the regulations, but also often have contact with interested parties who are looking for exactly the type of property.

Our team at Engel & Völkers Switzerland will be happy to advise you on your questions. You can use our property value calculator to take the first step towards determining the market value of your property in just a few clicks.