May shows minimal increase in rents

Rental prices remained largely stable in May. The canton of Graubünden and the two cantons of Appenzell recorded above-average increases. This is shown by the latest Homegate rental index. A year-on-year comparison across Switzerland shows a price increase of 1.7 per cent.

Zürich , June 2025

The property platform homegate.ch has published its monthly rental index in collaboration with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB ). According to a statement, the index rose by 0.1 per cent compared to the previous month to 130.5 points. This means that advertised rents “took a breather” in May.

Compared to the previous year, advertised rents rose by 1.7 per cent across Switzerland. Depending on the region, an increase in advertised rents of more than 5 per cent was recorded.

The results show clear differences between cantons and cities. At cantonal level, “consistently rising asking rents were observed for the first time in a long time” in a year-on-year comparison, according to the press release.

The cantons of Zug (up 7.1 per cent) and Nidwalden (up 6.9 per cent) were the most affected by rising rents over the past twelve months. According to the press release, the values there are also higher compared to the previous month – in Zug by 1.4 per cent and in Nidwalden by 1.1 per cent. However, the month-on-month increase was highest in the canton of Graubünden and the two cantons of Appenzell (plus 1.5 per cent). In contrast, the canton of Schwyz recorded price reductions, as in the previous month. With a decrease of 2.1 per cent, asking rents there are returning to the level of December 2024, according to the report.

Among the cities, the Greater Zurich Area is considered the most constant, as it was in May 2024. Asking rents have risen “relatively steadily” by a total of 4.4 per cent. In contrast, Geneva recorded a year-on-year decline – prices were 0.6 per cent lower than in the previous month of May. The highest price increase was recorded in the city of Lugano with a significant rise of 5.2 per cent. However, this development can be attributed to a selective decline in May 2024.

Homegate is a division of SMG Swiss Marketplace Group AG. This combines the digital marketplaces of TX Group, Ringier and Mobiliar.

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