Where can I afford to own a home? Should I rent or buy? Which housing option is currently more financially attractive? And how likely am I to find a suitable apartment at all? These questions are answered by IAZI’s new interactive analysis, now available on the platform of SRF Swiss Radio and Television (german only). Based on current property prices, market rents, financing costs, and regional market data, the tool shows how the housing situation differs across all Swiss municipalities and for various household types.
The results highlight the challenges facing the Swiss housing market. For example, a family with two children and an average gross annual income of around CHF 175,000 can afford a newly built 4.5-room owner-occupied apartment in only about half of all Swiss municipalities. Affordable locations are primarily found in rural and peripheral regions. The calculations are based on banks’ affordability guidelines and equity requirements. According to these standards, annual housing costs—consisting of imputed interest, amortization, and maintenance expenses—must not exceed approximately one-third of gross household income. For the family described above, this translates into a maximum affordable purchase price of around CHF 1 million, or approximately 5.5 times their annual income, assuming a required equity contribution of CHF 200,000.
The analysis answers key housing-cost questions in three steps:
- Where can I afford a home? For every Swiss municipality, the analysis calculates whether a household meets the financial requirements for renting or owning a home, taking into account affordability criteria and equity requirements. *
- Rent or buy – which is more attractive? The housing costs of tenants and homeowners are compared over a ten-year period. The results show that renting is currently cheaper than buying in many cities and tourist destinations. In contrast, homeownership can be financially more attractive in numerous rural municipalities.
- How large is the available housing supply? The analysis also indicates the market availability of rental and owner-occupied apartments. Even when a property is financially affordable, finding a suitable home can remain challenging if only a limited number of listings are available.
The analysis includes both newly built apartments and older properties dating from 1990. It illustrates how strongly apartment size, age, and location influence affordability.
Real Estate Expert Donato Scognamiglio Featured on SRF
To mark the publication of the analysis, Donato Scognamiglio, Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder of IAZI, will appear on the main edition of the SRF Tagesschau on 18 June. As one of Switzerland’s leading real estate experts, he will discuss current developments in the housing market and explain the findings of the analysis.
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* The SRF analysis assesses affordability and equity requirements independently of one another. This means that it only checks whether the entered income and asset values meet the respective guidelines. If the entered assets exceed the required equity contribution, only the amount of equity actually required is considered in the analysis. Any additional assets are not included in the calculation. As a result, the findings may differ in some cases from other commonly used mortgage calculators that incorporate excess assets into their methodology.