While the Swiss real estate market may be somewhat mixed at the moment, a trend emerged last year showing demand for condominiums declined in Switzerland, as the study the real estate portal Homegate revealed in its latest study (in German).

«Although the number of condominiums advertised online nationwide decreased by almost 20 percent last year compared to 2020, at the same time the average listing duration increased by one day», the survey, conducted in conjunction with the Swiss Real Estate Institute (Swiss REI), said.

Lively Demand in Cities

Nevertheless, the market remains extremely dynamic but fragmented. While Cities in particular recorded lively demand on average, it was concentrated in the higher-priced segments. In the lower-priced sector, properties had a significantly longer listing duration, while in the high-end it was unchanged despite increased supply, according to Homegate.

Pandemic Effect

This dynamic is attributable to the pandemic whereby both homeowners and tenants shifted their preferences away from smaller and cheaper properties to larger and more expensive ones. Presumably, they felt if they had to spend more time at home due to the pandemic, it should be in a larger space.

There are several possible reasons for the overall decline in demand in the condominium market. Prices in this segment have risen by an average of more than 8 percent in 2021, the strongest increase in ten years. This is likely to have had a dampening effect in general, according to Peter Ilg, the institute's director at Swiss REI.