Mortgages in Switzerland

By Abi CarterUpdated on Apr 16, 2025

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Buying a house in Switzerland isn’t just about searching for your dream home and moving in. As well as saving enough capital for a deposit and to pay the various taxes and fees that accompany a property purchase, you’ll most likely need to take out a mortgage. Our guide to mortgages in Switzerland walks you through all the most important information.

Mortgage advisors in Switzerland

Navigating the mortgage application process in Switzerland can be tricky, especially if you are relatively new to the country or don’t speak one of the languages of Switzerland very well. That’s why it’s a good idea, if you are thinking about purchasing a property, to consult with a mortgage advisor.

While a bank can directly provide you with a mortgage, brokers offer tailored advice and compare deals from multiple lenders to find you the best mortgage product. There are many mortgage brokers in Switzerland who speak English and specialise in catering to expats. They can not only find you a good offer, but also guide you through the whole application process.

Basic requirements for mortgages in Switzerland

Getting a mortgage in Switzerland is not only open to those with Swiss citizenship: those on long-term residence permits and non-residents are also able to apply, so long as they fulfil the basic requirements and are able to present the correct paperwork.

Can foreigners buy property in Switzerland?

Foreigners - including both those with residence permits and non-residents - are able to purchase property in Switzerland, so long as they meet the following basic requirements:

You hold a Swiss B- or C-residence permit
You are currently working in Switzerland, run your own business, or are claiming your pension.
You are able to afford a downpayment of at least 20 percent of the property purchase price.
You are able to afford the taxes, costs & fees associated with buying a house.
Your annual mortgage payments do not exceed 33 percent of your annual net income.

Bear in mind that B-permit holders may only apply for one mortgage at a time, whereas citizens of Switzerland or C-permit holders may apply for as many mortgages as they like or permitted by their mortgage provider.

Applying for a Swiss mortgage if you are self-employed

If you are self-employed, you are still able to purchase property in Switzerland. However, in order to secure a mortgage, you will have to prove that your income is consistent and sufficient enough to afford the mortgage repayments. Many banks consider self-employed people to be at a high risk of default, so may have a higher net income threshold or may ask for more evidence of your solvency through your tax return or by proof that you have paid your business taxes.

Applying for a mortgage in Switzerland if you are retired

If you are retired, that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t qualify for a mortgage in Switzerland. There are some banks that specialise in mortgages for senior citizens and will be able to tailor a deal for your needs. Instead of regular income, your mortgage costs will be covered by your pension. Bear in mind that mortgages offered to seniors may have shorter repayment windows and therefore may be more expensive.

Holiday home mortgages for Switzerland

If you do not live in Switzerland but would like to buy a house, you must fulfil certain criteria and must only use the property in certain circumstances. In order to purchase property, you must either apply for a visa, if you wish to develop property, or apply for financing directly with the mortgage provider, if you would like to just own a property. The criteria for mortgage lenders vary, but some general rules are:

You must have a good reason to purchase property in Switzerland.
You must have a strong connection to Switzerland.
You must have the financial capacity to support two homes.

If you get approval, you are able to use the house as a holiday home for 90 in every 120 days of the year, as mandated by your visa or EU citizenship. If you would like to stay in your property for longer, you must apply for a residence permit.

How do mortgages work in Switzerland?

Mortgages in Switzerland typically have longer repayment periods than in other countries around the world. It’s not uncommon to get a mortgage term of up to 30 years, and sometimes even 50 years or longer. Usually the interest rate is fixed for the first few years, but you can get fixed-rate deals for 10, 15 or even 20 years.

The flip side of this is that banks in Switzerland are quite cautious lenders, and require relatively sizeable upfront deposits, typically 20 percent of the purchase price.

Mortgage interest rates in Switzerland

Thanks to the country’s stable economy and robust property market, mortgage interest rates in Switzerland are generally low in international comparison. As a rule of thumb, the higher the deposit you are able to put down on the mortgage, the lower your interest rate (and monthly repayments) will be.

The Swiss National Bank determines the interest rate on mortgages as part of its policy rate. As of 2025, this figure is 0,5 percent. This guide interest rate is then taken by UBS, Credit Suisse and others to charge rates, as follows:

Fixed-rate mortgages at 0,99 to 2,16 percent
Variable-rate mortgages at 3,85 percent
SARON or LIBOR mortgages at 0,43 to 0,87 percent

How much can I borrow?

Mortgage lenders in Switzerland will typically not let you borrow more than 80 percent of the property value. Non-Swiss citizens are considered riskier investments and therefore usually will be required to pay a larger deposit upfront.

To prevent anyone from taking out a mortgage they cannot afford, lenders will ensure that your monthly mortgage repayments do not take up more than 33 percent of your gross income.

What are the costs involved in getting a mortgage in Switzerland?

The costs involved with getting a mortgage in Switzerland can be divided into three categories:

Mortgage deposit
Monthly repayments and interest
Service charges and administration fees

Mortgage deposit

To get a mortgage in Switzerland, you will almost certainly have to put down a deposit or downpayment. This is taken to secure your mortgage and will also be used to calculate your monthly repayments - the higher your deposit, the lower your repayments will be. You will need a deposit of at least 20 percent of the house purchase price.

Basic mortgage repayment

Once your mortgage has been secured, you will begin to pay it off gradually. Your monthly repayment will vary depending on the amount you borrowed, the size of your deposit, the length of your mortgage, and the interest rate charged by your lender. On average, repayment rates can range between 1 and 4 percent of the house's purchase price per year.

Mortgage interest

On top of your mortgage repayments, you will be charged interest. Mortgage interest accrues monthly or annually and gradually lessens over time, as you pay off your mortgage and your outstanding mortgage balance reduces.

Depending on the type of mortgage you choose, typically at first your monthly repayments will mostly be interest, with just a small chunk of your money going towards repaying the actual mortgage balance. Over time, as you pay off your mortgage debt, that ratio will gradually reverse, until you are paying more towards your mortgage than you are in interest.

The good news is that any interest you pay on your mortgage is - like all other interest on debts - tax-deductible in your annual tax return.

Service charges and administrative fees

The final part of your mortgage payment is the administrative fees charged by your bank or mortgage provider. These are payments for the handling of your mortgage, the processing of payments and customer services. Prices do vary, but an average estimate is around 1 percent of the house value per year.

Bear in mind that these figures do not include taxes that the government imposes on homeowners in Switzerland.

What if I cannot afford my mortgage?

Great care is taken during the mortgage process to ensure that your monthly repayments will be affordable, considering your monthly income and other committed expenditure.

If, however, for any reason you are struggling with your mortgage repayments, speak to your lender, as they may be able to offer competitive terms to resolve the issue, usually extending the mortgage term to reduce monthly payments or switching you to a variable rate mortgage.

If you do not keep up with your mortgage payments, your home may be repossessed.

Swiss mortgage calculator

Before you start house hunting, it is therefore extremely important to have an idea of what you will be able to afford. For this, you can use a Swiss mortgage calculator. There are a number of calculators available online that can give you a quick idea of what you could potentially afford, taking into consideration your deposit, income, expenditure, taxes and other fees.

Types of mortgages in Switzerland

There are several different types of mortgages in Switzerland. Your mortgage advisor can talk you through all of the details and help you decide which type is best for your personal situation, but here is a brief overview of the most important differences:

Fixed-rate mortgages

The most common type of mortgage in Switzerland is the fixed-rate mortgage. With this type of mortgage, you “fix” your interest rate for a predetermined period of time, usually between 10 and 20 years.

This means that your regular payments will remain the same for the duration of your fixed term, regardless of market conditions, allowing for long-term financial planning. If interest rates go up, your monthly repayments will remain the same - however, you equally won’t benefit if interest rates fall.

At the end of your fixed rate term, you will either switch to a variable rate mortgage or renegotiate a new fixed-rate mortgage.

Variable-rate mortgages in Switzerland

A variable rate mortgage, as the name suggests, follows market conditions. Instead of having a fixed mortgage interest rate, your interest rate will rise and fall in line with official interest rates. This means that your monthly repayments may go up or down during the life of your mortgage. If mortgage interest rates fall, you will feel the benefit of this more quickly than if you had a fixed-rate mortgage, but equally if interest rates rose, so would your repayments.

One benefit of variable-rate mortgages is that your initial interest rate is usually lower than it would be for a fixed-rate mortgage. However, that is liable to change over the term of your mortgage.

Many policies have no minimum repayment, meaning contracts can last up to 50 years. This may be more manageable as a monthly payment, but it also means that it could take a long time for you to pay off your mortgage.

Interbank offered rate mortgage (LIBOR and SARON)

Interbank rates or average-rate overnight mortgages are variable rate mortgages that only change in cost after a specific period of time. Instead of changing each month like a traditional variable rate mortgage, LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate) or SARON (Swiss Average Rate Overnight) mortgages see their costs changed every three, six or 12 months.

This means you are less vulnerable to dramatic increases in interest rates and yet still benefit from a more flexible policy. Since 2021, LIBOR rates have started to be phased out in favour of SARON rates, meaning that interest rates will adhere to the Swiss market instead of a global London-based metric. A SARON mortgage is typically short-term, with banks usually offering them for four to 10 years.

Bridging loans in Switzerland

Bridging loans are designed to cover the cost of buying a new house while your old house is being sold. If you are changing address in Switzerland and have bought a new home before selling your old one, a bridging loan will temporarily cover the cost of the purchase until the old home is sold. These loans are only available if you are using your old house as capital to buy a new home and will only cover around 60 to 80 percent of the house’s value.

Bear in mind that these loans are only supposed to be short-term solutions. If your loan expires before the sale of your old home, you will either have to explain the situation to your lender, renegotiate, or take out a standard mortgage.

Combined mortgages

Combined mortgages are where you pay for your house through multiple streams of income, including regular income, royalties, payments from a divorce or separation and pension income from any of the three pillars. These loans are typically well priced and can be an excellent way to pay back your mortgage quickly.

Construction and improvement mortgages

Alongside purchasing property, some mortgages allow you to purchase improvements for your home or build a new home entirely. These loans will allow you to improve your house in a sustainable way, as well as help with the cost of construction.

Switzerland was one of the first countries to offer low-cost loans in order to support improvements to your house which preserve or protect the environment. Although these loans do not traditionally help you buy a house, they can be used to install solar panels, geothermal heating, heat-saving insulation, and, in theory, personal wind turbines. Many companies also offer these grants if you would like to build an environmentally friendly home. Green grants can also be a great way to save costs on electricity and water.

Construction and commercial mortgages

There are many different types of loans that you are able to access as a homebuyer, including:

Construction loans that transfer into mortgages once the build is complete.
Commercial mortgages if you would like to start a business.
Renovation loans for home improvements and heritage renovations.

How to get a mortgage in Switzerland: Key steps

Getting a mortgage in Switzerland may seem like a daunting process. To help simplify things, we’ve broken it down into 10 steps:

1. Check if you meet mortgage eligibility criteria in Switzerland

Switzerland has a stringent set of rules around getting a mortgage. This extends to special criteria for non-Swiss buyers and people living in Switzerland on residence permits. If you are not sure whether you meet the basic requirements, you should schedule an appointment with a mortgage advisor, who can discuss all the details with you.

2. See what you can afford

If you have fulfilled the basic requirements for a Swiss mortgage, it is important to then make sure that taking out a mortgage is something that you can afford. Buying a house is sometimes less expensive than renting a house or apartment, but it is important to know whether it is the best choice for your budget.

Some of the things you must consider when seeing if you can afford a mortgage are:

Will I be able to afford the mortgage fees and costs?
Can I afford the cost of home insurance, which is mandatory in some form in all but four cantons?
How will the taxes, fees, and costs of buying a house affect what I can afford?
Is my income from work enough to support regular mortgage payments?
Do I have enough savings to fund the downpayment on a mortgage?

You can use a mortgage calculator to help you with this.

3. Find your new home

Once you are satisfied that you are likely to secure financing from a bank or lender and have a realistic estimate of what you can afford, it is time to start looking at your options for buying a house. Working with a real estate agent is a good idea, as they can alert you when new properties come up for sale, giving you a competitive edge.

4. Make an offer and pay your reservation fee

Once you have found the home and location that is right for you, you can make an offer. To secure it, your real estate agent will put down your reservation deposit (often a set amount of around 500 to 2.000 Swiss francs) and start the process of purchasing the property.

5. Submit your mortgage application

At this stage, you can go ahead and apply for a mortgage. Many people in Switzerland apply directly through a bank, but a mortgage advisor can bring together multiple offers for you to compare.

When you have selected a lender, you can submit your application, along with all the necessary personal and property documents. These include proof that you fulfil the criteria for a mortgage in Switzerland. Some of the evidence and information you must provide are:

Proof of ID, such as a passport
Residence permit for Switzerland (if applicable)
Social security number (AHV)
Details of any claims for social security, e.g. unemployment benefits or welfare
Evidence of financial sustainability such as bank statements or tax returns
Proof of liquidity
Documents related to the property as provided by a real estate agent

After reviewing your documents, most Swiss banks will invite you to speak to a financial manager. At this meeting, they will take you through the opportunities and risks involved with buying real estate and suggest ways of reducing your costs by tailoring a package specifically for you.

6. Draft and sign the purchase contract

In Switzerland, all contracts that involve purchasing land or property must be cosigned by a notary. If your local canton operates a system of private notaries, you are able to choose your notary freely. In most cantons, you must use the official notary of your local council (Gemeinde). Typically, notaries can be found in your local tax office or commercial registry office.

In general, notaries are paid for jointly by the seller and buyer as part of the purchase contract. The amount that notaries charge varies from canton to canton, but on average it is around 0,1 percent of the value of the property.

7. Finalise the sale

Once you have signed the purchase contract, either you, your real estate agent, or notary must notify the mortgage provider of the full contact details of the seller. They will then pay the seller the appropriate amount for the property and will notify you when the sale is complete. Once this is done, you are almost ready to move into your new home.

8. Pay property taxes

Some cantons have property transfer tax, property gains tax, and nominal property tax. These are taxes that the seller and buyer must pay as the transfer is completed. You can find more details on property taxes in our guide to taxes, costs & fees on buying a house in Switzerland.

9. Set up utilities

Once you move into your new home, you will have to make sure that all your utilities are set up for your arrival. This is either done by the seller during the purchase or by the buyer when they move in. When you arrive, it is important that you have registered water, energy, and internet for the property to avoid denial of service and any unnecessary costs.