The search for an affordable rental apartment is becoming more and more an ordeal. If you look for an apartment in a reasonably attractive location, you will quickly find yourself in competition with dozens or even hundreds of other applicants. Owners get overwhelmed with apps and usually remove their ads from real estate portals after a day or two.
As Martin Tschirren, 51, head of the Federal Housing Office, said in an interview with the “Handelzeitung”, he expects Switzerland to face a “housing shortage”.
Big migration, smaller households
There are three main reasons for this: On the one hand, the average number of residents per household is gradually decreasing. It is becoming more and more common for only one person to live in an apartment. On the other hand, construction activity is also declining significantly. With increasing interest rates, especially institutional investors have more alternatives to invest their money profitably. And then there will be a huge increase in immigration.
According to the federal government, 100,000 people are expected to immigrate to Switzerland this year alone. In addition, the federal government expects Switzerland to want to host 120,000 refugees from Ukraine by the end of the year. Initially, they usually live in federal residences or temporarily with private individuals. More and more people will be looking for their own flat if they stay in Switzerland longer.
Rents may continue to rise
“The number of newly built flats is already lower than the number of new homes looking for flats,” Tschirren tells “Handelzeitung”. And the situation is likely to worsen due to the development of building permits. “The number of flats under construction indicates that we will be short of 5,000 to 10,000 flats per year in the coming years.”
Increasing housing shortages are likely to push up already high rents in city centers over the next few years. Three-room apartments in new buildings in Zurich are now rented for an average of CHF 2,800 net, ie at no additional cost.
Tenants can expect significant increases due to higher energy prices, especially when it comes to ancillary costs. (smt)