In October, asking rents in Switzerland remained flat compared to the previous month. The index asking rents calculated by the SMG property platform Homegate in cooperation with Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) remained unchanged at 131.6 points, representing an increase of 3.1 percent compared with October 2024.

Long-term growth rates were also reported: since October 2015, asking rents have risen by 15.6 percent nationwide, and by 27.2 percent since 2010. Individual cantons or cities showed even stronger increases.

Declining Purchasing Power

According to SMG real estate expert Martin Waeber, the recent slowdown is linked to a cooling economy. Reduced wage growth has limited the purchasing power of new tenants, while slower job growth since the start of the year has curbed net immigration. Consequently, «a decelerated increase in rental prices can be observed across al regions and settlements types,» the report states.

By canton, Schwyz (+3.4 percent) and Graubünden (+2.1 percent) saw the strongest monthly increases in October, while Obwalden (-1.8 percent) and Ticino (-1.5 percent) experienced notable declines. Among cities, Lucerne recorded the largest monthly rise at +1.9 percent, whereas Lugano (-2.2 percent) showed the weakest performance. In Zurich (+0.14 percent) and Basel (+0.17 percent) remained nearly stable, while offers in Geneva, Lausanne, Bern and St. Gallen were 0.72 - 1.15 percent lower.

Only Slight Easing Expected

«In the near future, the supply of newly built apartments may puck up slightly again,» says Waeber. Construction activity had stalled due to the temporary rise in interest rates from 2022 to 2024, which affected supply. According to ZKB, around 47,000 new apartments are expected to be build across Switzerland in 2026, an increase of roughly 17 percent.

However, this is unlikely to lead to significant relief in the rental housing market. The increase in asking rents is expected to be much smaller than in previous years. ZKB forecasts nationwide growth of 2.5 percent for 2025 and 1.5 percent for 2026.