Swiss housing and mobility costs continue to outpace inflation

Housing has become more expensive in Switzerland over the last year due to two mortgage reference interest rate hikes affecting rents among existing tenancies, as well as a shortage of new rental flats. Keystone / Martial Trezzini

The cost of housing and mobility in Switzerland again rose faster than the official inflation rate in May 2024, according to a price index compiled by Comparis and the KOF Swiss Economic Institute. 

According to the quarterly “Womo Price Index”, the costs of housing and mobility in Switzerland rose by 2.6% year-on-year in May 2024, comparison portal Comparis reported on Thursday. In contrast, the national consumer price index, which covers a representative basket of more than 1,000 goods and services, rose by just 1.4% in May.  

In the last quarter, when the index was published for the first time, housing and mobility inflation were already higher than overall inflation – albeit not as significantly.  

According to a press release, housing and mobility account for around 40% of the daily consumption budget of an average family in Switzerland. Price changes in this space are therefore “particularly painful”.  

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Higher rent 

Housing in particular has become significantly more expensive in the last 12 months. According to Comparis, this is largely due to higher rents among existing tenancies due to two mortgage reference interest rate hikes in 2023.  

Furthermore, the increasing shortage of rental flats, particularly in cities, means low vacancy rates are driving a continuous rise in the cost of new rentals. Overall, a price increase of 3.4% was seen across residential rents.  

According to the figures, electricity also became significantly more expensive (+17.8%) and motor vehicle insurance rose by a whopping 4.7%. Meanwhile, small electrical household appliances, second-hand goods and furnishing accessories became cheaper.  

Comparis compiles the quarterly Womo price index together with the federal technology institute ETH Zurich’s KOF Swiss Economic Institute. In the residential segment, the index takes into account, for example, changes in rent and the prices of electricity and furniture. In the mobility segment, it covers the price of petrol or diesel, cars and public transport. 

Adapted from German by DeepL/kp 

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