Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

More and more empty homes seen in Switzerland

An empty house
An empty flat in Zurich Keystone

The number of empty dwellings in Switzerland continues to rise, but at a slower rate than previously. 

On June 1 a total of 75,323 homes stood empty in Switzerland, the Federal Statistical Office announced on MondayExternal link. This represented 1.66% of the total housing stock. Some 3,029 more homes were vacant than 12 months earlier, an increase of 4.2%. 

While the upward ten-year trend thus continues, momentum in the housing market has slowed. On June 1, 2018, the year-on-year increase in empty dwellings was 13% and 1.62% of the total housing stock was uninhabited.

 
External Content

Economic growth had not only led to a reversal in the immigration trend but had also decisively boosted domestic demand for housing, according to a study by Credit Suisse at the end of August. 

While the tenants’ associationExternal link is still complaining of a housing shortage, the bankers’ associationExternal link, under pressure from the government, has tightened self-regulation for the financing of apartment buildings. 

Hotspots 

As of June 1, 2019, the number of empty homes on the market increased in five major regions compared with the previous year. The largest increase in vacancy rates was in Ticino and the central plateau, covering cantons Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel and Solothurn; it declined in the former hotspots of Zurich and the Lake Geneva regions. 

The number of vacant one-family houses continued to rise. As of June 1, there were nearly 7,600 single-family homes for rent or for sale, up 5.6% on the previous year. 

The number of unoccupied new dwellings remained at the previous year’s level of 10,000 units.


More
​​​​​​​

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR