In which canton do people buy the cheapest cars, and what do Swiss people spend the most money on in online marketplaces? These and other numerous questions are answered in the current study “What Switzerland costs” by the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group. Data from 2021 on Real Estate, Vehicles, Insurance and General Marketplaces was collected for this study.
Zurich, 31 January 2022 – A significant part of the expenditure of Swiss citizens is made up of the areas of housing, mobility, insurance, leisure and sport. The SMG Swiss Marketplace Group shows comprehensive insights into the actual cost of living in Switzerland in its annual data evaluation “What Switzerland costs“. For this, figures from 2021 were collected on the online platforms ImmoScout24, Homegate, FinanceScout24, AutoScout24, Car For You, MotoScout24, anibis.ch, tutti.ch and Ricardo. “As a digital pioneer, we want to simplify the lives of people in Switzerland with groundbreaking products,” says Gilles Despas, CEO of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group. “With our platforms, we give them the opportunity to easily and quickly offer and buy products as well as compare prices. Especially in an expensive country like Switzerland, price transparency is important to keep an eye on the cost of living.”
General marketplaces: New clothes and second-hand items for the home and leisure sector
Shopping directly from the comfort of the sofa and outside shop opening hours is in vogue. Between 2008 and 2021, online shopping sales in Switzerland have tripled – from around CHF 5 billion per year to CHF 15 billion, particularly strongly in the last two years. The study shows that, among new goods, clothing is the most popular category to shop for online. People in Switzerland most often buy second-hand furniture and furnishings or hobby and leisure items online. The vast majority of respondents (77.4 per cent) say they spend up to CHF 50 per month shopping online.
Real estate market: Condominiums in Zug are three times more expensive than in Jura
If we look at real estate prices in Switzerland, we find significant cantonal differences. While a 4.5-room flat in 2021 costs an average of CHF 516,000 in the canton of Jura, it was more than triple that in the cantons of Geneva or Zug, at over CHF 1,700,000. If one takes the most sought-after type of flat, the 3.5-room rental flat, as a reference object, in 2021, differences in rental costs between the cantons of over 110 per cent become apparent. While tenants in the canton of Jura pay an average of just CHF 1,135, this figure is more than twice as high in the canton of Zug at CHF 2,428. Overall, the rental prices for 3.5-room flats have remained the same or even decreased in most cantons in the past year compared to 2020.
Vehicle market: Customers had to dig deeper into their pockets for a vehicle in 2021
The shortage of electronic components has strongly impacted the car industry in the last two years: according to Auto Schweiz, 238,481 new cars were registered in 2021. This is roughly the same as the previous year – but more than 20 per cent less than before the pandemic in 2019. Prices for new cars rose by around 2 per cent compared to the previous year 2020. In a Switzerland-wide comparison, the two half-cantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden, with an average of CHF 27,305, have the cheapest and Appenzell Innerrhoden, with CHF 51,292, the most expensive new cars on the market. In the case of second-hand cars, the price has risen by around 5 per cent compared to the previous year.
Insurance: Large price differences of several hundred francs
As is generally known, Swiss insurance companies set their premiums individually – based on a variety of factors such as the type of object to be insured, age, place of residence or the nationality of the person requesting insurance. Therefore, there are always large differences in the amount of the premium. For example, a new male driver (born in 2000) pays an average of CHF 2,346 per year for car insurance for his Skoda Octavia in Bellinzona. In Altdorf, however, he pays an average of CHF 1,932, which is more than CHF 400 cheaper. For an experienced driver who has held a driving licence since 2000 and wants to insure the same car, the difference between the canton of Ticino (average CHF 1,226) and the canton of Uri (average CHF 1,004) is somewhat smaller but still amounts to CHF 222.
The detailed results of the study on the individual areas can be found at «What Switzerland costs».
About SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG
SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG is a pioneering network of online marketplaces and a leading European digital company that simplifies people’s lives with breakthrough products. SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG offers its customers digital solutions to make some of their most important life decisions. Its portfolio includes Real Estate (immoscout24.ch, homegate.ch, ImmoStreet.ch, home.ch, Acheter-Louer.ch), Automotive (autoscout24.ch, motoscout24.ch, Car For You), General Marketplaces (anibis.ch, tutti.ch, Ricardo.ch) and Finance and Insurance (financescout24.ch). The competence network also includes the real estate valuation specialists IAZI AG and the developer of innovative real estate software CASASOFT. The company is owned by TX Group AG (31%), Ringier AG (29.5%), Mobiliar (29.5%) and General Atlantic (10%).
Contact
Daniel de Carvalho, Group Director Corporate Communications
SMG Swiss Marketplace Group
[email protected]
