The Swiss National Bank's interest rate policy will continue to be a key influencing factor for the Swiss real estate market in 2026. After interest rates rose significantly in 2022 and 2023, the interest rate environment has since eased again. The SNB policy rate is currently 0.00%.
As a result, financing costs for real estate have also decreased again. Ten-year fixed-rate mortgages are currently in the range of around 1.6% to 1.8%, depending on the provider, after having temporarily been over 3.0%.
Lower financing costs have stabilized the real estate market again. Especially in the canton of Zurich, demand for homeownership remains high. At the same time, the supply of available apartments and single-family homes remains limited, which further supports prices.
Despite lower interest rates, financing many properties remains challenging. Banks often still calculate affordability with notional interest rates of around 4.5% to 5.0%. This continues to make access to homeownership difficult, especially for buyers with less equity.
Demand for investment properties and multi-family homes also remains high. Due to lower financing costs, real estate investments remain attractive compared to other forms of investment.
While in the phase of rising interest rates, greater attention was paid to higher initial yields, there is currently a renewed willingness to pay more for well-located residential properties with stable rental income. Especially in the Zurich area, multi-family homes remain in high demand due to low vacancy rates and high demand for rental apartments.
In the Zurich area, in addition to the interest rate level, the following factors are particularly decisive for price development:
- limited building land
- 持續的人口增長
- low vacancy rates
- high demand for housing
- restricted construction activity
As a result, lower interest rates have further supported demand for homeownership and investment properties in the Zurich area. Especially well-located residential properties and multi-family homes remain in high demand due to limited supply and high demand.
