Rent prices drop in Zurich for the first time in 5 years

Following years of increases, asking rents in Switzerland have started to drop for the first time in five years, most prominently - and perhaps surprisingly - in Zurich and Ticino.

Average asking rents falling in Switzerland

Between July 2025 and June 2026, the average asking rent in Switzerland dropped by 1,7 percent, according to the latest Rental Home Market Price Analysis (ReMPA) by Newhome and the Swiss Real Estate Institute.

This is the first time asking rents, i.e. the amount apartments are advertised for, have fallen since 2019/2020 and could bring some relief to expats struggling with Switzerland’s high cost of living.

However, the price drop was not equally distributed across the country. In the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, rent prices fell by as much as 10,9 percent, almost double the reduction seen in the previous year.

Perhaps even more unexpected was the drop seen in Zurich: 3,3 percent, the second-largest asking rent reduction in Switzerland. The country’s biggest city has generally been hardest hit by the housing crisis, with apartments in short supply and competition high. 

The drop in asking rents in Zurich is likely connected to increased apartment availability, with listings rising from 46.226 to 50.785 across the three most recently compared periods.

By comparison, Central and Eastern Switzerland, home to cities like Lucerne, St. Gallen and Schaffhausen, are experiencing the opposite trend. Here, average asking rents have increased by 2,3 percent and 1,4 percent respectively. 

Zurich still the most expensive major city 

For anyone looking to take out a new rental contract, Zurich remains the most expensive city to live in Switzerland, with average asking rent sitting at 2.340 Swiss francs a month. Espace Mittelland, largely French-speaking Switzerland, is the cheapest, with rent currently 1.452 francs per month. 

When it comes to municipalities, however, Oberägeri, canton Zug, is where tenants will pay the most, with an average asking rent of 4.150 francs a month. This is followed by Geroldswil, Zurich (3.450 francs) and Wollerau, Schwyz (3.250 francs).

The study’s analysis comes at a time when vacancy rates in Switzerland have dropped below 1 percent to 0,93 percent as of September 2026. 

Newhome CEO Roman Timm warns that while “the headline may read: Asking rents are falling across Switzerland [...] the most important finding is that regional housing markets are diverging more and more.” 

To understand Switzerland’s current housing market, we “must therefore take a closer look at the regions”, where prices continue to rise, reports Watson.