Last week, the government in Bern broadly supported a plan to force all property owners to contribute to the cost of earthquake repair. This week, a Swiss homeowners association rejected the idea, reported SRF. The government plan is a response to the attitude of many home owners towards insurance. Only 15% of buildings are insured […]
All Swiss property owners could be hit with earthquake bill
Switzerland sometimes feels like the land of insurance. Numerous costs that are covered by taxes in many places come instead in the form of compulsory insurance in Switzerland. However, some risks remain uncovered by compulsory insurance. Earthquakes are one such risk. This week, a plan to force all property owners to contribute to the cost […]
Swiss Green Party launches vote to force home solar panel installation
This week, Switzerland’s Green Party started collecting signatures to launch a referendum. The vote would ask voters whether to accept a plan to force those renovating or constructing a new building to install solar panels, reported RTS. The Green Party says there are enough roofs in Switzerland to ween the country off imported fossil fuel […]
Most Swiss empty-nesters not planning to downsize
Switzerland has one of the world’s tightest housing markets. Vacancy rates in cantons like Geneva (0.42%) and Zurich (0.53%) are extremely low. By comparison, the rate in New York City (1.4%) is around three times higher. The vacancy rate across Switzerland (1.15%) as a whole is lower than NYC. With such a shortage of housing, […]
Migration between Swiss cantons – gainers and losers
The population is growing exceptionally fast in Switzerland. The nation draws many migrants from the EU and takes in proportionally high numbers of refugees. Over the last 20 years, the nation’s population has risen by 20%, far more than in France (10%), Austria (12%), Italy (3%) and Germany (2%) over the same period. In addition […]
Swiss house prices fall in the first quarter of 2024
After increasing for three quarters in a row, residential property prices in Switzerland fell during the first quarter of 2024, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The Swiss residential property price index (IMPI) fell by 1.0% in the period from January to March 2024. At the same time prices remained 1.5% higher than they […]
The Swiss canton with the highest crime rate
Data published this week reveal Switzerland’s cantonal crime hotspot, a phenomenon connected to geography. In 2023, after a sharp rise, the canton of Basel-City recorded the largest number of violent crimes and the highest per capita rates of theft and burglary. The rate of violent crime reached 13.2 per 1,000 residents in the city in […]
Recent Swiss fire deaths prompt calls for fire detectors
Across much of Europe, smoke detectors are a legal requirement. In Switzerland, they are not. The recent death of two people in a fire in Pfaffnau in the canton of Luzern has prompted calls to change the rules, reported SRF. On 19 March 2024, shortly after midnight, rescue workers were called to a burning apartment […]
No rise in Switzerland’s rent rate this quarter
After two increases in a row the reference interest rate used for adjusting rents remains unchanged this quarter. After two rises from 1.25% to 1.75% last year, many tenants in Switzerland will be breathing a sigh of relief. Many economists forecast no increases in the rate this year. Every quarter the rate of interest used […]
Swiss home prices up in 2023
This week, the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published the Swiss residential property price index for 2023, which showed an annual price increase of 2.2%, with a rise of 1.1% in the fourth quarter. The average price of single-family homes rose by an average of 1.9% last year and the prices of apartments rose by an […]
