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Zurich is the most expensive place to buy a home in Switzerland

Zurich residents will already know that the Swiss city is an expensive place.

Published: 31 August 2017 11:21 CEST
Zurich is the most expensive place to buy a home in Switzerland
Zurich. Photo: Jan Geerk/Swiss Tourism
Last year it was deemed the priciest place in Switzerland in which to rent a home, with rents more than twice the price of a similar-sized apartment in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, the cheapest place in the country.
 
And earlier this year it retained its dubious honour of being the most expensive city in Europe – and third in the world – as judged by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
 
Now a new study has found that the Swiss-German city is also the most expensive place in Switzerland to buy a home.
 
 
The research, by online comparison site comparis.ch and Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich, analyzed 1.5 million sales adverts from the end of 2005 to June 2017. 
 
It found that as of July 1st the median price on the real estate market in Zurich was 12,250 francs per square metre. 
 
That’s significantly more than the second most expensive place, Maloja in the canton of Graubünden, which comes in at 11,500 francs/m2.
 
Geneva came in sixth place at 11,000 francs/m2, with Zug in seventh (10,250 francs/m2) and Lausanne in ninth (9,500 francs/m2).
 
 
However in its long-term analysis the study found that it’s in the central Swiss city of Lucerne where housing prices have increased the most, up a whopping 82 percent since 2007. 
 
Lakeside locations were particularly in demand, resulting in sharp price increases not only over the past ten years but particularly in the past year – for example, prices in Lucerne have shot up by 11 percent in the past year alone. 
 
Horgen, on the south bank of Lake Zurich, has seen prices increase by 80 percent over the past decade, making it the fourth most expensive place in the country. 
 
Sursee, on Lake Lucerne, and Uster, on the Greifensee in the canton of Zurich, are also popular spots, with housing prices shooting up by 69 percent since 2007. 
 
 
Schaffhausen, in northeastern Switzerland, has seen the largest rises in the past year, with prices increasing by 25 percent over 12 months. 
 
At the other end of the scale, purchase prices in Entremont in the Valais have dropped by 19 percent in the past year. Nevertheless it still remains the tenth most expensive place in the country to buy an apartment. 
 
Raron, near Brig in the Valais, has the cheapest prices in the country, at 2,750 francs/m2.
 
 
The study also compared the price of houses with 5-6 rooms, and found Höfe on Lake Zurich in the canton of Schwyz to be the most expensive place, costing an average of 2.45 million francs.
 
Zurich came in at 1.6 million, and Geneva at 1.5 million.
 
That compares with the town of Porrentruy in the Jura, where a 5-6 room house will only set you back 350,000. 
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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

Checklist: What you need to do if you move house in Switzerland

Moving from one house or apartment in Switzerland to another is not as simple as just packing up your furniture. Instead, the process involves quite a few administrative tasks.

Published: 25 January 2024 12:10 CET
Checklist: What you need to do if you move house in Switzerland

Anyone who has ever moved, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere, knows it is not just a matter of simple logistics.

In fact, whether you are relocating to another town or canton, or just to another neighbourhood, moving is a big, expensive, time-consuming, and stressful experience.

These are various tasks you will have to cross off your list, one by one.

Getting your old apartment in order

It goes without saying that before you move out, you must make sure to leave the place clean and in order. Most people hire a cleaning company to do so, though you can, of course, do this yourself.

If, for instance, you broke or damaged anything while living in the apartment, you must repair it before you leave.

The condition of the apartment will be assessed during the final inspection process, when the landlord or the management company will write down all damages which you are responsible for either repairing yourself or paying someone else to do it for you.

You are not officially off the hook with your previous landlord until this process is completed.

De-register your old address and register the new one

Whether you are moving across the country or just across the street, this is an obligatory step.

You must let your ‘old’ commune’s population office (Einwohnerkontrolle / Contrôle des habitants/ Controllo abitanti) know you are leaving, and from which date.

You can do so either in person or (if available) online.

Then, when you settle in a new home, you have 14 days to announce your arrival in your new municipality, though in some places the deadline may be longer.

You will need the following documents:

  • A passport or ID card for each member of the family, in addition to a passport-sized photo for everyone
  • Documents relating to your family status — whether you are single, married, and with children
  • Your work or residency permit 
  • Your lease contract or proof of home ownership
  • Your health insurance card or proof of your current health insurance policy.

The rules are the same regardless of where you arrive from, that is, if you are Swiss, an EU citizen or from a third country, however the supporting documentation may vary. 

Some cantons may require other or additional documents, which you can find out ahead of time on your commune or canton’s website.

READ ALSO: Why you need to tell Swiss authorities where you live 

Inform the post office about your change of address

To ensure that your mail arrives at your new home, fill out the ‘change of address’ form online at least four days before your move. 

Four days is a minimum required time for the post office to process the address change and register it in the electronic database.

If you wait longer, your mail will continue to be delivered to  the old address.

You also should notify these companies of your move and new address:

  • Your mobile telephone / internet provider (if you still have a fixed phone, you should have it switched off at the old address and re-activated at the new one)
  • Your bank
  • Your insurance companies (health, car, and any other ones you have, both mandatory and optional)
  • Your doctor / dentist

If you forget to inform anyone of your new address, no worries — the post office will automatically forward the letters to you, provided your notified them of the change (see above).

What about the tax office?

You don’t have to do a thing.

Your local commune will automatically inform tax authorities of your move, so there is no chance whatsoever that they won’t find you.

Rental versus owned property

If you move into a rental property, you don’t need to, in most cases, notify utility providers like the electric company of your move.

But if you are going to live in your own house, then you must let the local power company know to switch on your electricity supply.
 

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