Amag-Erbin’s tiny houses in Zollikerberg ZH will be ready soon: more expensive living in less space

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Anyone who moves here has little space for furniture: the smallest studio in the new tiny houses development in Zollikerberg ZH measures just 39 square metres. Tiny houses had already caused turmoil before construction began. Until then, there were no apartments of this size available for rent in Zurich. Micro flats are almost gone now.

The first tenants are scheduled to move in on May 1, 2024. What’s special about it: Each rental apartment has its own ground level entrance, giving them the quality of small detached houses. The living space is usually spread over two floors. Additionally, each apartment has a small garden of 20 to 30 square metres. The apartments are on average 54 square meters in size.

Small apartment, big price

Can you at least save on rent in so little living space? Not really; at least on the Zurich Gold Coast. The rent for a small 1.5-room studio is 1,870 francs. The largest two-storey apartment covers 83 square meters and offers relatively large open space. Cost: just under 3,990 francs per month. In both cases this corresponds to a price of 48 francs per square meter. Not a little bit.

For comparison: According to the real estate consultancy company Iazi, the price per square meter of a 1.5-room luxury apartment in Zollikerberg is 40 francs. On average it is 34 francs. Future tiny house residents will pay much more.

The client is an Amag billionaire heir

The builder and land owner of the micro houses is Moyreal Immobilien AG. Behind this company is Amag’s billionaire heiress Eva Maria Bucher-Haefner (67). His father and Amag founder Walter Haefner died in 2012. Haefner sold half of his car empire to his brother Martin Haefner, 70, in December 2018. His daughter now invests her billion-dollar inheritance in real estate projects, among other things.

The real estate company UTO Real Estate Management (UTO REM) is responsible for the project. His initial goal, as he explained to Blick at the time, was to set the rent for small houses at around 2,000 francs per month. This didn’t work. Most housing units cost more, some even significantly more.

More expensive than expected

UTO REM cites rising wood and steel prices as the reason for this: “Due to the extraordinary increase in construction prices, average rental prices are slightly higher than the forecasts of four years ago,” project developer Yves Rogger (42) tells Blick. But the great interest in first rentals shows that current rental prices correspond to the willingness to pay for new apartments in Zollikerberg.

Of the 38 total micro-apartments, 35 are currently rented, while three are still vacant. According to those responsible, future residents of tiny houses will primarily consist of one- and two-person households.

Source :Blick