A new study by the city council of Zurich has revealed the cheapest and most expensive areas in the city to rent an apartment. The data found that rental costs in Switzerland's largest metropolis have risen by 40 percent since 2000.
Finding a rental property in Switzerland can be a challenge, especially in highly desirable areas like Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich. This has led to sky-high prices for regular apartments, the ever-looming threat of housing bubbles, and in some extreme cases, shower rooms in shared houses being rented out for more than 1.000 Swiss francs a month.
To find out how extensive the problem is, the city council of Zurich commissioned a study into how the rents quoted in rental contracts have changed in the city over the last 22 years. The survey found that in April 2022, the average monthly rent for a four-room apartment in Zurich was 1.787 Swiss francs a month - 40 percent higher than in 2000.
Newly built apartments in Zurich are the most expensive to rent, with a two-year-old two-room apartment costing 2.060 Swiss francs a month on average. In terms of price per square metre, the study found that smaller is more expensive, with two-room apartments costing 23,8 francs a month per square metre, compared to 18 francs per square metre a month for a four-room apartment.
The lack of space to build in the city centre has also put a huge strain on rental costs; a report by 20 minuten found that a two-room apartment in central Zurich was recently advertised for the equivalent of 60 francs per square metre per month.
The most expensive places to live in the city of Zurich were found to be Seefeld, Fluntern, Hottingen, Enge and Escher Wyss. Naturally, the closer to the centre of town or the lake, the more expensive apartments become, although areas on the eastern side of Zurich are typically more expensive than those in the north and west.
The heart of the old town around Lindenhof was found to be the most expensive for two and three-room apartments, with an average cost of 2.049 and 2.624 Swiss francs a month respectively. Hochschulen - the area where institutions of higher education like ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich are located - had the most expensive four-room homes at a whopping 3.269 Swiss francs a month on average.
The cheapest apartments were found to be in the Hard and Friesenberg districts, as well as Schwamendingen, Affoltern and Leimbach. Friesenberg (932 francs a month on average) had the cheapest two-room apartments, while Hard was found to have the cheapest three and four-room apartments, with an average cost of 1.078 and 1.320 francs a month respectively.
Want to see how expensive each area of the city is? Check out the city of Zurich's report.