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Mortgage costs now more expensive than renting, says Credit Suisse
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Mortgage costs now more expensive than renting, says Credit Suisse

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© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
May 3, 2022
Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

A new analysis by Credit Suisse has revealed that, for the first time in 13 years, the cost of renting a house or apartment in Switzerland is now cheaper than annual mortgage payments. The Swiss bank said that a sharp increase in the interest rate for mortgages has caused the phenomenon.

Rental costs now less than mortgage payments

According to the study, the cost of buying a house in Switzerland has increased dramatically in recent years. Credit Suisse found that while the average cost of renting a 4,5 room apartment in Switzerland is 22.440 Swiss francs a year, the annual cost of mortgage payments on the same property on a five-year 80-percent deal is 23.128 Swiss francs.

Credit Suisse found that homebuyers face a 3,1 percent surcharge compared to renters in 2022. This is a dramatic rise in the cost of buying a house as in 2021, average annual mortgage payments were 15,5 percent less than average rent.

Interest rate rises blamed for sky-high mortgage costs

This is the first time since 2009 that, on average, mortgages have cost more a year than renting. The study also did not take into account the cost of utilities and housing taxes, which can make buying a house even more unaffordable.

Credit Suisse blamed the heightened cost on mortgage interest rate increases, which rose from 1,1 percent in 2021 to 2 percent by the end of April 2022. Since the start of 2021, interest rates accounted for 45 percent of the average cost of a mortgage in Switzerland.

In concluding the report, Credit Suisse said that the price rises will hit new homeowners the hardest and will force many to postpone buying a house altogether. With the cost of energy and other goods and services also expected to rise, the prospect of owning a home in Switzerland seems further away than ever.

By Jan de Boer