Real estate market

Do you want to buy, sell or build a property? We’ve summarized the most important market information for you. 

Home prices rose by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 4Q23, similar to the previous quarters. Compared to 2023, this resulted in an overall price increase of 3.2%, which was significantly more than the increase in consumer prices of 1.1%. 

The momentum in rents was much stronger. Asking rents rose by 1.5% in the first quarter of 2024, and are now 6% higher than a year ago. Existing rents also saw an aboveaverage increase of 2.7% compared to the previous year.

Outlook: There are signs of a further slowdown in the annual growth rate of owner-occupied home prices to 1–1.5% by the end of the year. Subdued economic growth, continued higher financing costs, and the high absolute price level are putting pressure on demand. This should further reduce bubble risk.

The UBS Swiss Real Estate Bubble Index continued its decline in the first quarter of 2024 and now stands at 0.95 index points. The risk of a real estate bubble has thus fallen from "elevated" to "moderate." This means the benchmark is significantly lower than during the real estate bubble in the early 1990s. 

However, the analysis shows that bubble risk remains high from the perspective of fundamental factors rents and income. However, the risk of overheating has decreased as a result of weaker price momentum. Falling interest rates and the only moderate level of relative usage costs speak against a price correction. Overall low and further declining borrowing and new construction also clearly speak against a price bubble.