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Apartments in Swiss cities are scarce. And above all it is expensive. “Midsize companies can now hardly afford the city,” says Nicola Hilti, 46, a housing researcher at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences in Gallen.
That’s why there’s been a refocus on Airbnb offerings: “SonntagsZeitung” writes that around 40,000 accommodations were offered on the platform this January. According to Hilti, rents are particularly expensive in Zurich, Zug, Geneva and Basel, where Airbnb are the most.
The city of Lucerne is fed up with this: voters approved an initiative by the SP on Sunday with a 64.3 percent yes vote, which only allows renting for a maximum of 90 days per year. The reason for boredom: There should be more living space for local residents. About 390 apartments in the city of Lucerne are currently available for short-term rental.
Not a big success in Geneva
The same regulation has already been implemented in Geneva since 2018. However, moderate success was achieved. Because the canton of Geneva is the second region with the most Airbnb apartments. Bids in Geneva have been on track to recover since the end of the pandemic, although they have not yet reached 2019 levels.
Only the canton of Zurich has more Airbnb: There were more than 2,600 Airbnb apartments there this January – most of them in the city. Nowhere else in Switzerland has more offers. The basis is data from AirDNA.
Airbnb does not participate
Now a problem should be the implementation of tightening. After agreeing to the tightening, the canton of Geneva contacted Airbnb, among others. For the purpose of blocking accounts of non-compliant providers. However, the platform considered a comprehensive blocking “not technically possible”.
The canton has no choice but to limit itself to information from the neighbourhood, property management companies and the tenants’ association. Since the new regulation came into force, half a dozen reports have come to the cantonal administration.
The number increased after Corona
There are more Airbnb apartments in Switzerland today than before Corona. At the beginning of 2019 there were still 35,600 Airbnb accommodations in Switzerland, while in January there were already 39,600. Total revenue from short-term leases in 2022 was almost CHF 1.1 billion. That’s almost a third more than in 2019.
Overall, while the “SonntagsZeitung” continues, the share of Airbnb stays in the total housing stock in cities is relatively low. At least, a government-commissioned study in 2018 concluded that Airbnb apartments in Zurich account for 3.8 percent of apartments. According to the city, short-term rentals in Lucerne are currently under one percent.
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
