With the number of available homes dwindling, finding an apartment or house in Switzerland is a major challenge. Just how bad is it – and where is it getting worse?
Foreigners in Switzerland will be well aware of the struggle to find affordable housing, especially in the last few years.
Now, new figures from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) show just how squeezed the Swiss housing market has become.
As of June 1st this year, only 48,455 homes stood empty nationwide – barely one percent of the country’s housing stock, from apartments to single-family homes.
READ ALSO: Why is Switzerland’s housing shortage among the worst in Europe?
That’s 3,519 fewer vacant homes than a year earlier, a sharp drop of 6.8 percent. It also marks the fifth year in a row that vacancy rates have fallen.
Where is the situation getting worse?
Across Switzerland’s major regions, housing availability tightened further in June compared to the previous year.
The steepest declines in vacancy rates were recorded in the Ticino region (falling from 2.08 to 1.92 percent) and the Lake Geneva region (from 0.96 to 0.83 percent). In contrast, northwestern Switzerland saw a smaller decrease, from 1.06 to 1.04 percent.
In a comparison of cantons, Geneva had the lowest vacancy rate in the country at just 0.34 percent, followed by Zug (0.42 percent) and Zurich (0.48 percent). In total, 15 cantons reported vacancy rates below 1 percent.
By contrast, Jura (3.03 percent) and Solothurn (2.05 percent) stood out as the only cantons with vacancy rates above 2 percent.
Overall, the number of available homes fell compared to the previous year in 19 cantons, while it increased in six. In the canton of Graubünden the vacancy rate remained unchanged.
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Fewer rental and owner-occupied properties available
In June a total of 37,194 unoccupied flats were available for rent in Switzerland – a year-on-year decrease of 3,229 rental flats, or 8 percent.
Over the past five years, the supply of vacant rental apartments has fallen continuously, with declines ranging from 8.4 percent to 15.9 percent.
The number of unoccupied apartments offered for sale also fell by 290 units, or 2.5 percent, to a total of 11,261 apartments within a year.
The trend extends to new-builds. In June, 3,959 vacant new-build flats were advertised for long-term rent or sale in Switzerland. This was 251 units or 6 percent fewer than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, the number of unoccupied single-family homes offered for sale fell slightly by 25 units or 0.4 percent year-on-year. A total of 6,797 single-family homes were vacant in the property and rental market across Switzerland in June.
The housing shortage is hitting not only newcomers but also families and individuals trying to relocate.
“If you are forced to find a new home, you find yourself in a stressful situation,” Fredy Hasenmaile, chief economist at Raiffeisen, told Swiss news outlet Blick.
“The greater the pressure, the greater the dissatisfaction with the market.”
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Zurich plans affordable housing complex
Experts say that not enough new and affordable homes are being built in Switzerland to keep up with the growing population.
However, some action is being taken. For example, in a move to relieve the ongoing shortage of affordable rental accommodations in Zurich, the city is building 122 new apartments. The homes, in the Kreis 4 district, are scheduled to be ready for occupancy next summer.
The project will provide housing for around 360 people in total. A four-room apartment is set to cost 1,850 francs per month, and a three-room one will cost 1,590 francs. These prices are viewed as reasonable in Switzerland’s most expensive city.
Anyone interested can apply online. The deadline is September 25th.
