According to the Relocation project, the Swiss real estate market continues to rise in price amid an acute shortage of available apartments and the central bank’s zero key interest rate. According to a study by the consulting firm IAZI, housing prices rose by 0.8% in the third quarter and by 3.3% over the past year.
How real estate prices have changed over the past year:
Owner-occupied apartments — +3.9%.
Single-family homes — +2.8%.
Rental apartment buildings and investment properties — +4.5%.
Properties intended for rental are rising in price particularly rapidly. In the third quarter alone, their value increased by 1.4%.
The main problem is a housing shortage. According to data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, as of June 1, 2026, there were only 45,493 vacant residential units in the country, or 0.93% of the total housing stock.
Over the past year, the number of vacant housing units has decreased by 6.1%, and the share of vacant units has been declining for the sixth consecutive year.
Of the approximately 45,000 vacant units, only 11,000 are intended for sale. The rest are primarily part of the rental market.
The shortage is particularly noticeable in Zurich, Geneva, Basel, and popular Alpine regions. According to PwC, in the second quarter of 2026, rental rates for new leases rose by 2% year-over-year.
On September 24, the Swiss National Bank kept its key interest rate at 0%. A 10-year fixed-rate mortgage costs approximately 2% per year, while SARON variable-rate loans are slightly more than 1%.
Cheap financing and limited supply are supporting investment demand. At the same time, for ordinary buyers, purchasing a home is becoming increasingly less affordable, despite low mortgage rates.
According to IAZI’s assessment, no significant change in the situation is expected for now without a revision of monetary policy or a noticeable deterioration in economic conditions.
