“Who should value my property?” — the question always arrives with its siblings: how much it costs, why do it, and how to recognise a serious valuation from a figure of convenience. Here are the answers, straight: the five possible valuers and their uses, the real costs — often nil —, and the signs that distinguish genuine work from a sales pitch.
Why get a valuation — and what a mistake costs
A valuation serves well beyond a sale: selling at the right price, refinancing a mortgage, preparing an inheritance, a division of estate or a gift, or simply managing your assets. And a mistake costs in both directions: too high a price misses the decisive first weeks on the market and ends in a reduction visible to everyone; too low a price hands your capital gain to the buyer. On Geneva values, the gap between a serious valuation and a rough guess commonly runs into hundreds of thousands of francs.
The five possible valuers
The online tool — instant and free: a statistical model cross-references transaction data. A good starting point, never a price: it ignores the actual condition, the view, the plot and the health of the PPE (condominium). The estate agent — the valuation for a sale, free because it is at the heart of the profession: its strength is local knowledge — signed sales in the micro-market, real current demand. The federally certified expert — the formal report, signed and documented, which carries weight with third parties: bank, tax authorities, court, estate; it comes at a cost, and it is worth it when a third party needs convincing. The bank — it assesses the property as collateral, with its own often cautious models: its figure frames your financing, not your selling price. The notary, finally, does not value: they authenticate — but they know who to direct you to in estate-related situations.
How much does a valuation cost?
The honest answer fits in three lines. An agent’s valuation for a sale: free and with no obligation — with us as with any serious professional, it is an investment in the profession, not a favour. A formal expert appraisal: chargeable, quoted according to the property and the complexity of the mandate — that is the price of a report that can be relied upon by third parties. The online tool: free, at its true value as an indication. Not to be confused with the pre-purchase technical inspection — the examination of the building’s condition, a different profession, with its own fees.
The sixth valuer: the tax authorities
An official figure is already circulating for your property, and it has nothing to do with its market value: the tax value. Many owners discover it in their post — the authorities send “a letter containing the tax value of real estate properties […] to owners before 31 March of each year” — and mistake it for a valuation. It is one, but not the kind they think.
Its method is not that of an expert. For a house or a flat in a PPE, the tax value is based on the purchase price, or the value used during an inheritance or a gift — a point fixed in the past, increased since 2025 and, from the 2026 tax period, indexed annually. For a rental building of more than two dwellings or commercial premises, the logic changes entirely: the tax value “is set by capitalising the annual taxable rental income, at rates set each year by the Conseil d’État”.
On top of this comes a reduction that has nothing to do with the market: “The tax value is reduced by 4% per year of continuous occupancy, up to a maximum of 40%.” A house occupied for fifteen years therefore carries a tax value cut by four tenths — without the property having lost a single franc.
The conclusion is simple, and it avoids disappointment: the tax value is used to calculate tax, not to set a selling price. It is almost always significantly lower than the market value, and a buyer who used it to negotiate would be using the wrong tool. It remains useful to know for two reasons: it determines your wealth tax, and it interests the buyer in anticipating their own taxation — it is, moreover, one of the documents in the sale file.
The bias no one dares mention — and how to protect yourself
Yes, an agency valuation can be skewed: promising a flattering price to secure a mandate is the temptation of the trade — and the worst thing that can happen to a seller, as the market always corrects itself, at their expense. The protection is simple and comes down to one requirement: ask for evidence. A serious valuation is based on actually recorded transactions — not listings —, can be checked down to street level, and is explained line by line: the weighted floor area used, the comparables chosen, the adjustments applied. Anyone who cannot show their sources is giving an opinion, not a valuation.
How a serious valuation is carried out
It begins on site — never on a simple form: a full visit, the actual condition, volumes, light, immediate surroundings. It then applies the method suited to the property — comparative per weighted m² for a flat, intrinsic value per m³ for a house, yield for a rented property — then checks the calculation against signed sales in the micro-market. It concludes with a reasoned report: a figure, its justifications, and a strategy. Exceptional properties have their own method — that of luxury brokers — and official needs call for a formal expert appraisal.
Preparing well for your valuation
The owner does half the work: a complete file — plans, deeds, work carried out and its invoices, PPE documents, charges — and total transparency about the condition, defects included: a valuation based on an embellished picture does not survive viewings. If a sale is the goal, the valuation is the first step of the complete method; the net seller proceeds then translate the price into francs actually received, tax deducted. Start with a confidential audit — with no obligation — and keep the glossary to hand for technical terms.