Facts about the housing market in Switzerland

In 2023, the Swiss population was growing twice as much as in 2022, and the vacancy rate fell for the fourth time in a row in 2024. Housing production has declined in recent years. Heating oil is the main energy source for heating in buildings built before 2001, whereas less than 2% of buildings built since 2011 are heated by oil.

On 31 December 2023, the permanent resident population in Switzerland was 8,962,300, compared to 8,815,400 in the previous year (+146,900 people; +1.7%). This is almost twice as much as in 2022 (+0.9%), meaning that growth was more pronounced than at any time since the early 1960s. Without the people from Ukraine, the population would have increased by 1.1%.

After slowing down during the pandemic years, immigration picked up again in 2022 and continued to increase in 2023. The increase is partly due to the fact that people from Ukraine have been part of the permanent resident population since 2023. In 2023, a total of 263,100 people immigrated (+37.8% compared to 2022), of which 22,000 were Swiss nationals and 241,000 were foreign nationals.

Emigration, on the other hand, fell slightly. 121,600 people left Switzerland (30,700 Swiss nationals and 90,900 foreign nationals). As a result, net migration (difference between immigration and emigration) rose from 68 800 in 2022 to 142 300 in 2023 (+106.9%). This balance explains around 95% of the population growth in 2023 (compared to 90% in the previous year). Never before has net migration been so high in Switzerland.

The reference scenario describes the growth that seems most plausible in the coming decade and is expecting a further increase in the permanent resident population up until 2050 to approximately 10.4 million people.

The vacancy rate has fallen by 0.07 percentage points from 1.15% to 1.08% within a year. This is the fourth year in a row that it has fallen, albeit less sharply than in previous years (between -0.16 and -0.23 percentage points since 2021). In a cantonal comparison, the lowest vacancy rate was in the canton of Zug (0.39%). It was only slightly higher in the cantons of Obwalden (0.44%) and Geneva (0.46%). In 18 cantons, the figure decreased compared to the previous year, while in eight it increased. The canton of Jura (2.98%) had the highest vacancy rate in Switzerland. Vacancy rates above the 2 per cent mark were also recorded in the cantons of Solothurn (2.37%) and Ticino (2.08%). 

As at 1 June 2024, a total of 40,423 unoccupied flats were offered for rent. This corresponds to a year-on-year decline of 3,790 rental flats or a drop of 8.6%. The decline in the supply of vacant rental flats that began in 2021 thus continued, albeit to a lesser extent than in previous years (-13.5% in 2022; -15.9% in 2023). On the other hand, the number of unoccupied flats for sale rose by 999 units or 9.5% to a total of 11,551 flats within a year.

4,210 vacant new-build flats (not older than two years) were advertised for permanent rental or purchase in Switzerland on 1 June 2024. The number of single-family homes offered and unoccupied on the reporting date also increased by 698 units year-on-year. A total of 6,822 single-family homes were vacant across Switzerland on the reporting date, with neither a tenant nor a buyer. Most empty homes have three (16,108 units) or four rooms (13,705 units). Compared to 1 June 2023, the number of vacant 1- to 4-room flats decreased. In contrast, more large flats were offered.

At the end of 2023, there were 1.79 million residential buildings and 4.79 million dwellings in Switzerland. More than a million of these buildings were single-family homes, and more than half of the occupied single-family homes (55%) had only one or two occupants.

Switzerland is a country of tenants: the vast majority of households live in rented accommodation (2.4 million). In contrast, just over a third of households live in their own home. This share has been declining slightly in recent years. In 2022, there was an average of 2,2 persons per dwelling. In 1970 this figure was 2,9.

In 2022, the average monthly rent for three and four-room dwellings was CHF 1’478. Average monthly rent was highest in the cantons of Zug, Zurich and Schwyz. The most inexpensive rents were found in the cantons of Jura and Neuchâtel. Rents also vary widely depending on the location and characteristics of the property.

Housing construction in Switzerland peaked between 2013 and 2018: during this period, an average of 50,000 new dwellings were built every year. A reversal of trends has been seen in recent years. In 2021, 10,051 new residential buildings were counted in the survey, providing a total of 45,307 new dwellings.

More than a third (39%) of buildings were built in the past 40 years, i.e. after 1980. Whereas 45% of single-family houses have been built since 1981, only 37% of multi-family buildings were built after this year and 20% of buildings in other categories (buildings not for solely residential purposes). The building stock in the canton of Fribourg is exceptionally recent with 28% of buildings built in the 21st century. In contrast, only 5% of buildings were built in this period in the canton of Basel-Stadt.

In 2023, 54% of residential buildings in Switzerland were heated with fossil fuels (oil and gas). Heating oil remained the most important source of energy for heating, used in 37% of all buildings. However, this share has steadily decreased over the last 40 years. Gas heating was installed in 17% of all buildings, with a strong disparity between urban and rural areas. In urban municipalities, 29% of buildings were heated with gas, compared to only 4% in rural municipalities

The share of buildings with a heat pump (21%) has increased fivefold since 2000. Three quarters of the buildings constructed in the last ten years had a heat pump. One in four single-family homes had one in operation. 12% of buildings were heated with wood and 8% with electricity.

At the household level, the situation is somewhat different. Almost two-thirds of households heated with fossil fuels in 2023 (38% heating oil, 25% gas). The share of households heating with a heat pump was 18% nationwide; the highest share (32%) was recorded in the canton of Fribourg.

In 2023, two-thirds (66.8%) of residential buildings in Switzerland were owned by private individuals. Legal entities owned more than one in ten buildings (12.1%). 14.3% of properties were owned by communities, i.e. simple partnerships, communities of heirs, communities of property or communities of municipalities.

Depending on the category of building, there are structural differences with regard to ownership. In 2023, 75.3% of single-family houses belonged to private individuals and 18.2% to communities (mainly simple partnerships, but also communities of heirs and property, as well as communities of municipalities). Over half (55.3%) of buildings with several apartments were owned by private individuals, while 20.5% were owned by legal entities.

More information about the housing market in Switzerland can be found here

_{Source: Federal Statistical Office (FSO)}