The gap between landlords and tenants is widening

real estate market more and more out of balance

The gap between landlords and tenants is widening

The imbalance in the Swiss real estate market continues to grow. It continues the growth that has been seen since the middle of the last decade.

Zurich and Central Switzerland: These two regions have the tightest housing market in Switzerland – both for home ownership and for rented apartments. “They are clearly under pressure, especially in the low rental price segment, and are clearly inadequately supplied,” the latest issue of the “Free Movement of People and Housing Market” Monitor said, which is published annually by the Federal Housing Office. (BWO).

In terms of domestic growth, the growth rate of Swiss and foreign households was at the level of the previous year. However, central Switzerland is out of the ordinary: according to the BWO, the strongest growth in foreign households is likely to be seen in central Switzerland in 2021. In other words, migrants especially feel at home there. Maybe even because of the low tax.

difference between rental and home ownership

The pole opposite these very tight markets in Zurich and central Switzerland is the canton of Ticino, which according to BWO Monitor is the most relaxed market in Switzerland.

The rest of the regions are more or less balanced. This is the case mainly in north-western and eastern Switzerland, and to a lesser extent in the Espace Mittelland (BE, FR, JU, NE, SO). “There, the rental housing markets create a buffer for scarce home ownership,” it says.

The ownership rate is still in the order of 41 percent for Swiss and 12 percent for foreign households: “Accordingly, foreign homes are not the primary cause of price increases for residential property.”