Asking rents in Switzerland jumped again in September. Specifically, the rental prices of advertised properties have increased by half a per cent. Last month’s changes ranged between minus 0.6 and plus 3.9 per cent in the individual cantons. It is noticeable that asking rents in the canton and the city of Zurich have also risen again after a two-month break. This is shown by current figures from the Homegate Rent Index.
The Homegate Rent Index for asking rents is compiled by the real estate marketplace Homegate in cooperation with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). It measures the monthly, quality-adjusted change in rents for new and re-let flats based on current market offers. Compared to the previous month, the index increased by 0.6 points in September and now stands at 123.3 points (plus 0.5 per cent). Compared to the previous year, asking rents rose by 3.7 per cent across Switzerland.
Change in the cantons
Looking at the individual cantons, asking rents in September are higher in the majority of cantons than in August. Only six of the 25 cantons (the cantons of Appenzell are included) show declining asking rents, particularly in Basel-Stadt with minus 0.6 per cent. The decline in the other five cantons is less than 0.3 per cent. Despite this partial downward trend, asking rents have risen in all cantons without exception compared to the previous year. The highest increases were recorded in Schwyz (6.2 per cent), Zurich (6.1 per cent) and Valais (5.4 per cent). For Zurich, there was also a monthly increase in asking rents of 1.1 per cent after they remained stable or fell in the two previous months. The pause has, therefore, given way – at least in the month of September – to regular development again.
Change in the cities
In the cities surveyed, the picture for September was similar to that in the cantons. Asking rents ranged between a plus of 1.9 per cent in Zurich and a minus of 1 per cent in Lausanne. This means that the price trend, which had been stable to declining in the meantime, has already corrected itself again in the city of Zurich. Looking back over the year, the trend is consistently upwards, as in the cantons, with all the cities surveyed showing more than one per cent increases. The most substantial increase in asking rents was in the city of Zurich, with a significant increase of 11.4 per cent compared to September 2022.
Method of quality adjustment
The development of asking rents in Switzerland is adjusted for the different quality, location and size of the flats. The advantage of this so-called hedonic method is that the real rental price development for new and re-let flats is reflected on Homegate. The Homegate Rent Index is the oldest quality-adjusted rent index in Switzerland and is considered a reference source for real estate professionals to determine the price of rental properties.
Fabian Korn
Communications Manager
