Home ownership costs in Switzerland up by 2% in 2024

Housing is not becoming more expensive everywhere Keystone-SDA

Home ownership in Switzerland became slightly more expensive in 2024. However, in some cases, people paid less for houses or flats than in the previous year.

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Residential property prices rose by about 2% in 2024, according to a study released on Wednesday by the real estate portal New Home and the Swiss Real Estate Institute. The study examined the six regions with the highest number of sales transactions.

According to the data, flat prices rose by 2.2%, responding more strongly to interest rate cuts than single-family homes, which saw a 1.6% increase. The rise in single-family home prices is mainly driven by the booming regions of Zurich and central Switzerland.

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With an average price of CHF1.78 million ($1.96 million), central Switzerland has the most expensive single-family homes, with prices surging by 8.5%, the highest increase. Zurich ranks second, with prices rising by 3.9%.

In contrast, prices stagnated in eastern and north-western Switzerland. In southern Switzerland, the Espace Mittelland region, and canton Ticino, they even dropped by more than 2%.

Slightly cheaper flats in Ticino

Over the past decade, land prices per square metre for single-family house plots in Zurich have risen by 4.7% annually, the highest increase among all regions. In canton St Gallen, prices increased the least, at just 0.9% per year. Consequently, prices in the most expensive cities rose nearly five times more than in the least expensive cities during this period.

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The study shows that Zurich has the most expensive flats, with an average price of CHF1.18 million. Central Switzerland isn’t far behind and is catching up fast with a 7.7% price increase. The press release suggests that significantly lower taxes may be driving growth from Zurich to central Switzerland.

Unlike owner-occupied houses, the price increase for owner-occupied flats is more widespread across regions, with prices only slightly cheaper in canton Ticino. Over the past 10 years, prices in Zurich have risen three times more than those in Lugano and its neighbouring areas.

The Home Market Price Analysis is based on actual sales prices from the Swiss Real Estate Data Pool (SRED), which includes transactions financed by UBS, Credit Suisse, ZKB, Migros Bank, and Swisslife. In 2024, the SRED recorded 3,710 single-family house transactions and 4,446 apartment transactions across the six regions analysed.

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

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