Those dreaming of buying a house in Switzerland will have to wait over two decades to afford property in the most desirable locations like Zurich, a new report from Iazi has revealed. For those on average salaries, Swiss cities offer some of the least affordable homes in Europe.

Switzerland (as a whole) does not have Europe's least affordable flats

To rate how affordable each location in Switzerland is for housing, Iazi calculated the average cost of a 70-square-metre apartment in over 10 different locations across the country. They then compared this to an average gross Swiss salary of 88.000 francs a year. With the average 70-square-metre apartment in Switzerland costing around 778.000 francs, they calculated that it would take 8,8 gross annual salaries to afford a flat. 

Thanks to a higher average salary, Switzerland as a whole does not have the most unaffordable homes in Europe. According to a similar study from Deloitte, in Czechia, a 70-metre apartment costs the equivalent of 13,3 gross annual average salaries. Slovakia (12,7 yearly wages), Hungary (10,2), Ireland (10,2), Israel (10,2), France (9,8) and Serbia (9,8) were all found to have less affordable homes for their residents.

However, the alpine nation was by no means the most affordable. Apartments in Denmark, Norway and Italy were found to cost 4,7, 4,8 and 5,3 annual salaries respectively.

Zurich, Geneva and Zug have the least affordable apartments in Europe

This picture changes dramatically when looking at individual Swiss cities: in Zurich, an apartment was found to cost 27 years’ worth of annual gross salary. While the study did not take into account the fact that Zurich wages are higher than the national average, it still means locals in the Swiss metropolis have to spend decades saving up to afford a mortgage to buy just a 70-metre apartment, estimated to cost 2,46 million francs.

The situation is similar for those wishing to buy larger homes in Zurich. In November 2023, another Iazi report estimated that someone who wished to buy a small house would need a salary of at least 525.000 francs a year before they could even contemplate a mortgage - along with a down payment of over 600.000 francs.

In the report, Zurich was followed by Geneva, Zug and Basel, with apartments costing 24, 20 and 15,9 years of gross salary respectively. This makes them the most unaffordable cities for housing in Europe, with Amsterdam placed a distant fifth with 15,1 years.

Where are the cheapest apartments in Switzerland

By contrast, the most affordable apartments in Switzerland were found to be Faido in Canton Ticino. There, an apartment was found to cost just 250.000 francs, the equivalent of three years' average Swiss salary - though it must be borne in mind that wages in Ticino are usually the lowest in the country.