Raiffeisen Switzerland reported the results of its transaction price index in the fourth quarter of 2023 in a press release. This index is published quarterly at the beginning of each new quarter. It measures the price development of owner-occupied residential property in Switzerland based on change of ownership data from Raiffeisen and the Swiss Real Estate Datapool (SRED). Further information on the Swiss property market is available at www.raiffeisencasa.ch.
According to the press release, the index at the end of 2023 was characterised by four developments:
- Prices for single-family homes fell by 1.0 per cent
- Condominiums cost 1.7 per cent more than in the previous quarter
- Single-family homes in tourist regions recorded the sharpest price declines within a year
- In the last four quarters, prices for condominiums rose the most in Central Switzerland and the Zurich region
Source: SRED, Raiffeisen Economic Research
In its press release, Raiffeisen writes that the market for owner-occupied residential property sent out mixed signals in the fourth quarter of 2023. One per cent less was paid for single-family homes than in the previous quarter. By contrast, prices for condominiums rose sharply by 1.7 per cent. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, single-family homes now cost 2.2 per cent more and condominiums 5.9 per cent more. Fredy Hasenmaile, Chief Economist at Raiffeisen Switzerland, comments on the results as follows: “The falling prices for single-family homes at the end of the year provide a foretaste of 2024. In the current year, we can expect to see negative price momentum in both segments of the owner-occupied property market in one quarter or another. Overall, however, any price declines will remain within narrow limits, partly because mortgage interest rates have already peaked.”
Sinkende Einfamilienhauspreise in der Region Zürich und der Südschweiz
Source: SRED, Raiffeisen Economic Research
According to Raiffeisen, single-family homes in Zurich and southern Switzerland (-0.5% in each case) and north-western Switzerland (-0.4%) recorded slight year-on-year price declines. By contrast, prices rose sharply on Lake Geneva (+7.9%) and in Central Switzerland (+6.3%). Prices for condominiums rose in all regions in 2023. The strongest increases were in Central Switzerland (+13.5%) and the Zurich region (+9.6%).
Single-family house prices in tourist communities fall slightly
The breakdown of price trends by municipality type shows that house prices in the tourist municipalities fell by 2.7 per cent within a year. In the other types of municipality, prices continued to rise in 2023. In the condominium segment, urban municipalities recorded the strongest price increases (+6.6%). With an increase of 3.8%, condominium prices in the city centres rose the least.
