Switzerland’s housing vacancy rate falls below 1 percent

Switzerland’s housing vacancy rate fell below 1 percent for the first time in 2026, with 45,493 homes unoccupied on June 1, SRF reported, citing the Federal Statistical Office.

The vacancy rate stood at 0.93 percent of the country’s total housing stock, down 0.07 percentage points from the previous year. The number of empty homes fell by 2,962, or 6.1 percent, marking the sixth consecutive annual decline.

Of the vacant homes, 34,690 were available to rent and 10,803 were offered for sale. The number of empty rental properties fell by 6.7 percent, while the number of homes for sale declined by 4.1 percent.

There were 6,496 vacant single-family homes and 3,910 unoccupied new-build apartments, defined as homes no more than two years old. Vacancy rates fell across all housing sizes, with two-room apartments recording the sharpest percentage decline. Three- and four-room apartments were the most commonly available.

Vacancies declined in six of Switzerland’s seven major regions. The steepest falls were recorded in eastern Switzerland, northwestern Switzerland and Ticino. The Zurich region was the only one to report a slight increase, with its vacancy rate rising to 0.52 percent.

Fifteen cantons recorded vacancy rates below 1 percent. Zug had the lowest rate at 0.20 percent, followed by Geneva and Obwalden. The highest rates were recorded in Jura, at 3.35 percent, and Solothurn, at 1.91 percent.

The Swiss Tenants’ Association said that more construction would not automatically lead to affordable rents. It argued that most new housing was being built in the high-price segment, while affordable homes were increasingly disappearing from the market. The association also said some landlords were exploiting tenants’ difficult situation by charging excessively high rents and disregarding legal limits on returns.