The recent surge in building permits is lagging behind market realities. The Federal Statistical Office\u2019s survey of vacant flats recorded just 45,493 vacant flats in Switzerland as at 1 June 2026. This represents 0.93 per cent of the housing stock and marks the sixth consecutive year of falling vacancy rates.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the Federal Housing Market Monitor forecasts very low growth in the housing stock for 2026. One reason for this is replacement development in urban areas, which removes old flats before new units come onto the market. The federal government does not expect stronger growth rates to return until 2027, due to an increase in building applications and planning permissions.<\/p>\n
Approved but not yet occupied The national figure masks severe shortages Net growth remains the key benchmark This shifts the focus for developers, investors and authorities. It is not the number of planning permissions that determines whether the housing shortage is alleviated, but the actual net increase in the relevant segment. As long as too few additional flats are coming onto the market \u2013 particularly in expensive cities where supply is tight \u2013 a large pipeline remains, above all, one thing: a promise for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 52,000 approved flats indicate a substantial pipeline in Switzerland, yet the market remains tight. At the end of June 2026, the vacancy rate stood at just 0.93 per cent. What matters is not the number of planning permissions granted, but what is actually built, where it is built and at what rent it is let.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_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":[12489,56026,55960,56002,12493],"tags":[53092,16672,12525,12526,13072,13562,12528,62979,57590],"class_list":["post-168255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-construction","category-planning-development","category-ratings-marketanalyses","category-residential","category-region-zurich-en","tag-baubewilligungen-en","tag-ersatzneubau-en","tag-immoinvest-en","tag-immonews-en","tag-leerwohnungsziffer-en","tag-mietwohnungen-en","tag-news-en","tag-wohnbausaldo","tag-wohnungsmarkt-schweiz"],"acf":{"bild_mit_ki_erstellt_worden":["Ja"],"lead":"The 52,000 approved flats indicate a substantial pipeline in Switzerland, yet the market remains tight. At the end of June 2026, the vacancy rate stood at just 0.93 per cent. What matters is not the number of planning permissions granted, but what is actually built, where it is built and at what rent it is let.","autor":"","ort":"Schweiz\/Z\u00fcrich\/Bern\/Zug\/Jura\/Solothurn","bildunterschrift":"","zusammenfassung":"
<\/strong>According to market observations, around 52,000 flats were approved in the past four quarters \u2013 a figure last seen at the end of 2018. However, this alone says little about supply. Between approval, financing, legal validity, the start of construction and occupancy, projects can be delayed, scaled back or halted altogether. Furthermore, replacement builds reduce the net increase. The federal government notes that in 2025, around 18 per cent of newly built flats were replacement builds.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>The national vacancy rate also masks a fragmented market. In the canton of Zug, the vacancy rate stood at 0.20 per cent in 2026, in Zurich at 0.52 per cent, whereas in Jura it was 3.35 per cent and in Solothurn 1.91 per cent. A larger housing pipeline in individual regions therefore does not automatically resolve the shortage in particularly tight centres. Furthermore, it is primarily the rental segment that accounts for the vacant flats. Pressure remains high there because those looking for accommodation are reliant on what is actually advertised.<\/p>\n
<\/strong>The canton of Zurich illustrates just how much replacement new-builds and demolitions can distort the statistics. In 2025, around 7,800 flats were built there in new developments, whilst at the same time almost 2,600 flats were demolished. The net housing balance was therefore only around 5,200 flats, or 0.6 per cent of the existing stock. In the same year, the population grew to 1,628,081 people, around 13,000 more than a year earlier. In the city of Bern, too, the actual increase was small. In 2025, 316 flats were added through new builds, conversions and changes of use, whilst 198 were lost. On balance, this left a net increase of 118 flats, bringing the total to 79,797 units.<\/p>\n\r\n \t