One in six people (16%) in Switzerland spends more than a third of their income on housing, exceeding a widely recommended limit, according to a survey published on Thursday by Comparis, a price-comparison website. Among tenants, the share rises to 22%. A common rule of thumb is that housing costs should not exceed a third […]
Zurich’s housing squeeze begins to ease
More building and slower immigration are taking pressure off the rental market. But rents are still rising. Finding a flat in Zurich has long meant crowded viewings and frequent rejection. Now there are tentative signs of relief. Zurich Cantonal Bank (ZKB) sees a possible turning point as construction picks up and immigration slows. The canton’s […]
Why Swiss mortgage rates are rising faster in some regions than others
Switzerland’s mortgage rates are rising. How much borrowers pay depends on where they are. Switzerland has one currency, but its mortgage market is far from uniform. In the third quarter of 2026, median ten-year fixed rates ranged from 1.62% in Central Switzerland to 2.15% in Valais, according to Resolve’s quarterly mortgage report. Geography matters because […]
Theft convictions fall in Switzerland, but foreign nationals still account for more than 80%
More than 80% of those convicted were foreign nationals, and around two-thirds were not permanent residents of Switzerland, according to new federal statistics. As autumn brings shorter days and longer nights, Switzerland enters the season when burglaries tend to rise. Theft, which includes burglary, is among the most common offences recorded in the country’s latest […]
A quarter of Swiss buildings now have heat pumps
Switzerland’s housing stock is becoming greener. In 2025 one in four residential buildings was equipped with a heat pump, six times the share in 2000. Among homes built over the past decade, the technology is already dominant: three-quarters use one. Yet oil and gas still heat half of the country’s 1.8m residential buildings. The figures, […]
Swiss housing acutely scarce again
Switzerland’s housing market tightened further in 2026 to reach a vacancy rate below 1% for the first time since 2013. On June 1st, 45,493 homes stood empty, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), equivalent to 0.93% of the housing stock. That was 0.07 percentage points lower than a year earlier. The number of vacant […]
Why home ownership varies so sharply across Switzerland’s cantons
Switzerland’s housing market varies significantly by region. The chances of owning a home depend heavily on the canton in which one lives. Switzerland’s home-ownership rate is low by European standards, but the national figure hides a much more interesting story. In 2024, 35.7% of permanently occupied homes were owner-occupied. Yet the gap between cantons was […]
Swiss activists billed 90,000 francs for police costs
Police in Basel are billing two activists CHF 90,000 for the cost of an operation to remove them from a former chemical site in Klybeck in Basel, reported SRF. The eviction in early July attracted attention beyond Basel. Two activists, a man and a woman, remained on the edge of the roof of a high-rise […]
Swiss home battery sales are booming. The maths still doesn’t add up
Switzerland’s residential battery market is growing fast. Around half of new photovoltaic installations are now paired with storage, according to Swissolar. Falling battery prices, lower payments for surplus solar power and the prospect of more flexible electricity tariffs are all helping to drive demand. But popularity should not be confused with profitability. In Switzerland, solar […]
Moving to France – a cheaper life across the border
While Switzerland is debating how to curb immigration, some of its own residents are considering a move in the opposite direction. According to a survey commissioned by Comparis, a price-comparison website, nearly one-third of adults in French-speaking Switzerland could imagine moving to France. Some 4.2% are already looking for a home there—equivalent, by the company’s […]
