Where can under-35s afford to buy a house in Switzerland?
By Jan de Boer
A new study from real estate consultancy Wüest Partner has found that young people in Switzerland can only afford to buy a home in three of the 26 Swiss cantons. In some areas, prospective buyers under 35 years old would have to earn double the median household income to get onto the property ladder.
Buying a house in Switzerland: A popular (but distant) goal
With only around 37 percent of people in Switzerland owning their own homes, owning property in the alpine nation is more of a luxury than a right. According to Wüest Partner, while 40 percent of people under the age of 35 dream of buying a house, the current average age of homebuyers is 48 years old.
To see if anywhere in Switzerland is affordable for young house hunters, the company analysed average house prices in all Swiss cantons and towns. This was then compared to what a couple earning the median joint salary for those under 35 (9.230 francs a month) could afford if they applied for an 80 percent mortgage.
Jura, Valais and Ticino the only affordable options for average earners
In results given to Blick, Wüest Partner found that only three Swiss cantons offer affordable homes to young couples, with the rest of the country found to be financially off-limits. For a couple earning the combined median income, only Jura, Valais and Ticino offer affordable homes to buy.
Canton Jura remains the best place in Switzerland for house buyers. Wüest Partner found that almost the entirety of the region is affordable for those with average incomes. However, it must be borne in mind that salaries in Switzerland’s youngest canton are nowhere near as high as in places like Zurich, Geneva or Zug.
House hunters will have to look more carefully in Valais, where only the German-speaking part of the canton remains affordable, namely Gampel, Turtmann, Ausserberg and Fieschertal. For Ticino, only the less popular areas of Airolo, Quinto and Faido are still affordable.
Double the median Swiss income needed to afford property
In the rest of the country, housing for average earners is only affordable in a select few cases, usually in highly isolated and rural areas. As soon as people venture into suburbs and rural towns, home prices skyrocket.
For example, Wüest Partner estimated that in order to buy a home in the outskirts of urban centres in Geneva, Zurich, Zug and Lucerne, you would need to earn double the median household income to afford the mortgage. This means that if households do not earn more than 18.500 francs a month, owning a home will remain a distant dream in most areas.
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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