Switzerland has one of the tightest housing markets in Europe. Only Iceland has fewer empty homes. On 1 June 2023, only 1.15% of homes were empty across Switzerland, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Across the whole country there were fewer than 55,000 places available to those looking for somewhere to live, […]
Swiss rents could climb more than 15% by 2026
Home rent could rise 15% in Switzerland by 2026, according to Martin Tschirren, the head of Switzerland’s federal housing office, reported RTS this week. Tschirren thinks the rental reference rate could rise again over the coming year or two – the rental reference rate is an officially computed figure that reflects average mortgage rates. It […]
Swiss municipalities with most private swimming pools
This week RTS published a map showing which Swiss municipalities have the highest numbers of private swimming pools. Swimming pool champions are clustered mainly in Italian- and French-speaking Switzerland. Three of the top ten municipalities are in Ticino, five in Geneva and two in Vaud. Only the commune of Binningen in Basel Landschaft in German-speaking […]
Swiss building costs continue sharp rise
Between October 2020 and April 2023, Swiss building construction costs rose by 13.9%. On an annualised basis the cost of building has been rising at a rate of 4.3% over this period, a rate higher than general inflation – the consumer price index rose 2.6% over the year to the end of April 2023. Building […]
Swiss government moves closer to abolishing fake taxable rents
Every year, home owners in Switzerland who live in their properties must add an imputed rent to their taxable income, adding to their tax bill. The system was introduced in the 1940s to fund government shortfalls during the war. A number of politicians and members of the public have tried for roughly two decades to […]
Switzerland’s rent rate rises paving way for rent hikes
Four times a year the rate of interest used to set the rents in Switzerland is reviewed. If the aggregate average mortgage rate goes down some renters can request lower rent. If it goes up some landlords can raise rents. This time the rate rose from 1.25% to 1.50%. Higher rents are likely to follow. […]
Swiss real estate gives up some of its recent gains
On 15 May 2023, the Federal Statistical Office published its latest residential property price index. During the first quarter of 2023, average Swiss home prices fell by 1.2%, leaving them 3.9% higher than a year before. Stand alone houses dropped in price by 1.3% while apartments lost 1.1% of their value over the three months […]
Swiss housing shortage due to lack of land for construction
A report published on 4 May 2023 cites land scarcity as the main reason behind Switzerland’s housing shortage. In the 20 years between 2001 and 2021 Switzerland’s population grew from 7.3 to 8.7 million, a rise of 1.4 million residents or 19%. And with annual net immigration of around 50,000, building enough homes to house […]
In 10 years 40% of Swiss workers will regularly work from home, predicts research
According to a report published this week, 40% of employees in Switzerland are predicted to regularly work from home within the next 10 years. In 2001, less than 1% of Switzerland’s employees did more than half of their work from home. By 2019, the same figure was 25%. Then Covid-19 struck. During the first lockdown […]
Home ownership now more expensive than renting in Switzerland
Buying has become much more expensive than renting in Switzerland, according to a report by the bank Credit Suisse. The market for owner-occupied homes is currently undergoing a reversal of fortunes, triggered by the spike in mortgage interest rates in 2022, said the bank. Although owners enjoyed unprecedented low mortgage rates for a decade, rates […]
