Prices for residential property move in opposite directions

Zürich, May 2024

The Swiss Real Estate Offer Index shows a price increase of 1.2 per cent for single-family homes in April compared to the previous month, as reported by the SMG Swiss Marketplace Group. Despite the widespread demand for owner-occupied homes, buyers have become more selective, which leaves the realisation of higher asking prices still open. Condominiums recorded a price decline of 1.2 per cent compared to March, while asking rents fell by 0.2 per cent. Regional differences are particularly evident in eastern and central Switzerland, where rents fell sharply.

April brought strong price increases for single-family homes, SMG Swiss Marketplace Group(SMG) announces in a press release on the current Swiss Real Estate Offer Index. Specifically, SMG’s experts observed prices that were on average 1.2 per cent higher than in March. The SMG Swiss Marketplace Group brings together the digital marketplaces of TX Group, Ringier and Mobiliar.

“Although the dream of owning a home is still widespread among the population, prospective buyers have become more selective”, Martin Waeber, Managing Director Real Estate at SMG Swiss Marketplace Group, is quoted as saying in the press release. It therefore remains to be seen “whether the increased asking prices can actually be realised”.

By contrast, prices for condominiums in April were on average 1.2 per cent lower than in March. A year-on-year increase of 1.1 per cent was thus measured. According to SMG experts, this is the lowest annual growth rate since the beginning of 2020.

A decline of 0.2 per cent was recorded for asking rents compared to the previous month. Compared to April 2023, however, asking rents were 2.7 per cent higher. SMG experts observed particularly sharp month-on-month declines in Eastern Switzerland and Central Switzerland. In north-west Switzerland and the Lake Geneva region, on the other hand, asking rents rose.

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