Housing: Asking rents on the rise again
Following a moderate decline in September, asking rents rose again slightly in October 2016. Prices for owner-occupied apartments also increased. This is shown by the latest figures from the Swiss Real Estate Offer Index, which is compiled by ImmoScout24 and IAZI AG.
Compared with the previous month, the Swiss Real Estate Offer Index recorded a 0.5% increase in asking rents across Switzerland in October 2016. August had already closed with a slight increase, while asking rents were still declining in the months from April to July 2016. Martin Waeber, Director ImmoScout24, expects a further downward trend overall. "It can be assumed that asking rents will continue to come under pressure due to increased construction activity and rising vacancy rates," he says.
While rents in the major regions of Zurich, Northwestern Switzerland and Espace Mittelland stagnated in October, the Lake Geneva region posted an increase of 0.7 percent, according to the index. Central Switzerland also recorded a slight increase of 0.4 percent. For the greater Ticino region, the monthly percentage calculation of the price trend for asking rents was again in negative territory at -1.9 percent.
Condominiums more expensive, single-family homes cheaper
For condominiums, the Swiss Real Estate Offer Index is quoted at around CHF 7,160/sqm in October, up 0.1 percent on the previous month. On an annual basis, condominiums have become 3.8 percent more expensive.
In the case of single-family homes, asking prices per square meter of net living space averaged CHF 5,975 last month. This represents a decrease of 0.8 percent compared with September. Year-on-year, single-family homes have also become slightly cheaper (-0.2%). Waeber comments that this is an indication that investors are continuing to focus on condominiums due to the relatively high purchase prices for single-family homes and the resulting difficulty in financing them. (ah)
