A new report by Homegate and Immoscout24 has found the cheapest place to buy a house in Switzerland. While “cheap” and “buying a house in Switzerland” are not words that are often used together, prospective buyers can pay up to six times more for an apartment in one area compared to another.
According to the study's findings, reported in Blick, people in Switzerland pay between 1 and 1,7 million Swiss francs on average to own their own house, either through capital or by applying for a mortgage. Needless to say, the fact that you need so much to buy a house, and be able to afford the subsequent property taxes, explains why the vast majority of people choose to rent a house or apartment instead.
Experts noted that the price of single houses rose by 4 percent in 2022, while apartment prices increased by 5,7 percent. Canton Zurich saw prices rise fastest while the region with the lowest increases was “northwestern Switzerland” - Basel and Aargau.
Starting with the most expensive, the priciest houses in Switzerland can be found in the town of Uetikon am See in Canton Zurich. Just 34 minutes train ride from Zurich, a house in the local area will set you back a whopping 4 million Swiss francs on average! While Zurich often finds itself at the top of the table for prices, Vésenaz in Geneva and Nyon in Vaud rounded out the top three.
For apartments, the most expensive neighbourhood is arguably the "expat capital of Zurich" - Küsnacht. A flat in the former hometown of Tina Turner will set you back 2,5 million francs on average.
In contrast, the cheapest place to buy a house in Switzerland is the town of Aarburg in Canton Aargau. The average price for a house in the town is just 610.000 Swiss francs, 84 percent less than Uetikon.
Houses in Büren an der Aare, Worben (Canton Bern), Reinach and Lenzburg (Aargau) were the next least expensive, with single houses in each of the towns costing between 610.000 and 740.000 Swiss francs on average. While you may assume that these low prices mean they are largely cut off from larger cities, amenities and public transport services, all of the top five have railway stations, with some being only 20 minutes away from the capital of the canton.
For apartments, the cheapest place to buy was also in Canton Aargau: Homegate found that an apartment in Klingnau sells for an average of 400.000 Swiss francs, six times less than they do in Küsnacht - which is only 45 kilometres away. Oftringen (Aargau), Kirchberg, Lenk (Bern) and Möhlin (Aargau) rounded out the top five.
For more information, check out the official study (in German).