New housing construction lags behind population growth
The number of building permits and building applications for urgently needed new housing is declining nationwide. This is the finding of the Zürcher Kantonalbank in its real estate research. Many new construction projects are delayed as a result of general construction conditions and appeals.
Across Switzerland, around a quarter less new residential space is being built than a few years ago. In view of the rising population, there is a threat of an undersupply of urgently needed new residential construction, according to a media release from Zürcher Kantonalbank(ZKB) on the new study of its real estate research.
The study cites a declining number of building applications as reasons for the slowdown in construction activity. On average, it takes 140 days from planning application to approval in the country, which corresponds to an increase of 67 percent compared to 2010. Those who want to build wait the longest in densely populated regions. The time span for the canton of Zurich, for example, is given as almost 200 days, which corresponds to an increase of 136 percent compared to the year of comparison and a waiting time of almost one year. The negative front-runner is the canton of Geneva, where 500 days pass before a housing project is approved.
Furthermore, high construction requirements make it difficult to create new housing quickly. Appeals also contribute to the slowdown in the new construction sector. The real estate research is based on a study of actually realised new housing projects, according to which every tenth approved housing project was not realised in 2010 and the rental housing market is lacking 4000 flats per year.
In the latest issue of Immobilien aktuell, the Zürcher Kantonalbank provides data-based facts and analyses on the topic of housing shortage. In a further article, new housing construction is compared to a hurdle race.