Temporary Calm in the Swiss Real Estate Market

With the end of the hot month of August, temperatures in the Swiss real estate market have also stabilised at a high level. Condominiums were marketed at the end of August at just 0.1 per cent lower in price than in the previous month and thus remained practically constant in value. The average price per square metre of living space in this segment was around 8,623 Swiss francs. Over the past twelve months, this still corresponds to a noticeable price increase of +2.3 per cent, as shown by the Swiss Real Estate Offer Index, which is collected and published by the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group in cooperation with the real estate consultancy IAZI.

Higher price expectations for single-family homes
Sellers of single-family houses raised their price expectations slightly in August by +0.7 per cent. Year-to-date, however, asking prices have hardly moved at all, at +0.4 per cent. “Relatively stable asking prices for owner-occupied homes are good news for anyone looking for such a property. However, home ownership remains expensive,” says Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group. The price per square metre is currently around 7,453 Swiss francs, which is around 1,100 Swiss francs less than the price for condominiums.

Rents down slightly in August
For tenants looking for a flat, the past month brought a respite. Rental properties were offered at -0.4 per cent lower in price on average. However, the longer-term trend continues to show rising rents: Over the last twelve months, the offerors have increased their price expectations by +2.9 per cent. The development of rents in August varied from region to region: The values in Ticino (+1.3 per cent) and in Northwestern Switzerland (+0.9 per cent) rose at an above-average rate. There were little to no changes in the Lake Geneva region (+0.4 per cent), in eastern Switzerland (+0.2 per cent) and in the Central Plateau (+0.0 per cent). In contrast, rents fell in Central Switzerland (-1.0 per cent) and in the Greater Zurich region (-2.3 per cent).

“Flat hunters must continue to expect higher rents as the supply, especially in central locations with good infrastructure, continues to tighten,” says Waeber. This is also indicated by the vacancy data published by the Canton of Zurich, which is considered a good basis for estimating the nationwide development. The vacancy rate in the most populous canton has fallen to 0.5 per cent this year, one of the lowest values since the turn of the millennium.

Date 31. August 2023

The Swiss Real Estate Offer Index is published on the websites of ImmoScout24 and IAZI AG.

www.immoscout24.ch/immobilienindex
www.iazi.ch/angebotsindizes

Detailed information and statistics on the development throughout Switzerland and on the developments in the different large regions can be found in the download area.

Rental offers for all of Switzerland (CHF/m2 per year)

Offers to buy single-family homes all of Switzerland (CHF/m2)

 Purchase offers for condominiums all of Switzerland (CHF/m2)

 The values may have rounding differences.