Swiss office market under pressure
The Swiss office market appears stable, but the figures tell a different story. Falling occupancy rates and a lack of employment momentum point to structural shifts. While centers continue to benefit, the risk of a rising vacancy rate in the coming year is growing.
The available office space in Switzerland remains at 2.12 million square meters. A stable figure on the surface. However, this conceals a worrying trend. At 425,000 square meters, the average quarterly take-up in 2025 is significantly below the previous year (2024: 540,000 m²). This corresponds to a decline of around 21 percent. Companies are hesitating, making slower decisions or withdrawing from letting processes.
No employment – costs are rising
The reason for this lies in the weak labor market dynamics. Employment growth in typical office sectors has shrunk from an already meagre 0.3% in 2024 to 0.1% in the third quarter of 2025. The situation in industry is particularly dramatic. Here, job losses intensified from minus 0.2 percent (2024) to minus 1.1 percent (2025). High American import duties and a strong Swiss franc are an additional burden on Swiss companies. The planned tariff reduction could provide relief, but has yet to prove its worth.
Maintaining centers, periphery under pressure
The spatial polarization on the office market is intensifying. Availability remains low in the five largest Swiss centers, with the exception of Basel. In the city centers, the rates average 3.7 percent, in the surrounding urban areas 3.6 percent. The suburbs, on the other hand, are struggling with a vacancy rate of 9 percent. This shows an east-west divide. The suburbs of western Switzerland have seen significantly more new construction activity than German-speaking Switzerland.
Risks for 2026
If take-up remains at this low level, the vacancy rate threatens to rise in the coming year. Today’s stability could quickly become tomorrow’s brakes if employment growth and entrepreneurial willingness to invest do not return.