The OECD report of 15 September 2026 tackles the root cause. The organisation identifies persistent tensions in the Swiss housing market and calls for the supply to be made more responsive. It cites, in particular, uncertainties in land-use planning, planning permission procedures, rent control and property taxation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, price movements continue. At the end of July, the Federal Statistical Office reported a rise in the residential property price index for the second quarter of 2026 of 0.7 per cent compared with the previous quarter and 3.5 per cent compared with the previous year. Prices of owner-occupied flats rose by 1.6 per cent within a single quarter, whilst those of detached houses fell slightly by 0.4 per cent.<\/p>\n
Affordability is shifting to the periphery This trend is not new, but it is becoming more pronounced. According to UBS, house prices have risen by an average of 3.2 per cent per year over the past 15 years, whilst household incomes have risen by only 1 per cent. It is precisely this gap that is also reflected in the price-to-income ratio highlighted by the OECD. Switzerland stands out in this respect from its major neighbouring countries, where affordability has improved again since 2021.<\/p>\n A shortage of new-builds is exacerbating the pressure The OECD is sounding the alarm. Whilst the affordability of home ownership in Germany and France has improved noticeably since 2021, the price-to-income ratio in Switzerland continues to rise. For many households, buying a home is therefore becoming a stopgap measure rather than a realistic option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","_surecart_dashboard_logo_width":"180px","_surecart_dashboard_show_logo":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_orders":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_invoices":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_subscriptions":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_downloads":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_billing":true,"_surecart_dashboard_navigation_account":true,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55963,56026,55960,56002,22305],"tags":[61701,12525,12526,12591,12528,20213,62307,12930,49059],"class_list":["post-166044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-financing-strategies","category-planning-development","category-ratings-marketanalyses","category-residential","category-switzerland","tag-erschwinglichkeit","tag-immoinvest-en","tag-immonews-en","tag-neubau-en","tag-news-en","tag-oecd-en","tag-preis-einkommen-verhaltnis","tag-wohneigentum-en","tag-wohnimmobilienpreise-en","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":{"bild_mit_ki_erstellt_worden":["Ja"],"lead":"The OECD is sounding the alarm. Whilst the affordability of home ownership in Germany and France has improved noticeably since 2021, the price-to-income ratio in Switzerland continues to rise. For many households, buying a home is therefore becoming a stopgap measure rather than a realistic option.","autor":"","ort":"Schweiz","bildunterschrift":"","zusammenfassung":"
<\/strong>For average households, the market is therefore becoming tighter. In its \u2018Real Estate Focus 2026\u2019, UBS notes that a high-quality 100-square-metre property is now affordable for a household on the local median income in only 17 per cent of all municipalities. Even for an average property, this figure rises to just 34 per cent. As a result, buyer interest is increasingly shifting towards more affordable locations outside the major centres.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>On the supply side, relief remains scarce. UBS points to just 5,100 approved detached houses and 11,200 owner-occupied flats for 2025. That is less than half the number of approvals granted 20 years ago. Unless housing production picks up significantly, home ownership in Switzerland is likely to continue to become more expensive than household incomes can cope with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\r\n