Geroldswil overtakes the Gold Coast

In the canton of Zurich, advertised rents have fallen by 3.3 per cent over the past year to 2,340 francs. This offers little relief, as the vacancy rate remains at just 0.48 per cent and, of all places, Geroldswil now tops the cantonal rent rankings due to expensive new-build properties.

The decline is affecting, above all, those sub-markets that have previously driven up Zurich’s rent levels particularly sharply. In city centres, advertised rents fell by 6.0 per cent compared with the previous year, and by 5.1 per cent in high-income municipalities. At the same time, the gap between existing and advertised rents remains wide at 24 per cent, which continues to make moving house more expensive for many households.

New-builds shake up the rankings
The most striking shift is evident at local authority level. Geroldswil has an average asking rent of 3,450 Swiss francs for newly advertised flats, placing it ahead of Rüschlikon at 3,193 Swiss francs and Küsnacht at 3,180 Swiss francs. According to the latest rental market analysis, this leap is primarily due to a high proportion of expensive new-build flats with spacious four-room layouts. For developers and investors, this highlights just how significantly individual clusters of new-build properties can shift a municipality’s statistical ranking.

At the lower end of the scale is Feuerthalen, with an average asking rent of 1,590 Swiss francs. The range within the canton therefore remains enormous, even though the general rent level has fallen slightly. For existing tenancies, however, Zurich remains the most expensive region in Switzerland. The average rent for existing tenancies stands at 1,768 francs.

Small flats are on the rise
Depending on flat size, the market is moving in different directions. Whilst 2- to 4-room flats remained largely stable, 1-room flats rose in price by 3.8 per cent. Flats with five or more rooms, on the other hand, became 2.6 per cent cheaper. This suggests that there is no broad-based easing of the market, but rather a shift within specific, tight sub-segments.

Low vacancy rates are holding back any easing
Structural scarcity remains the key driver of prices in the canton of Zurich. As at 1 June 2025, the vacancy rate stood at 0.48 per cent. This remains one of the lowest figures in Switzerland and is well below the national average of 1.0 per cent. Across Switzerland, asking rents fell slightly during the period analysed for the first time since 2019/20. The decline was particularly sharp in Ticino, at minus 10.9 per cent, whilst Central Switzerland continued to rise by 2.3 per cent and Eastern Switzerland by 1.4 per cent.