Swiss asking rents declined for the first time since the 2019/20 period, according to the Rental Home Market Price Analysis (ReMPA) published by the Swiss Real Estate Institute and commissioned by property portal Newhome. Nationwide, the average price of listed rental apartments fell 1.7% between July 2025 and July 2026.
The figure contrasts with the hedonic Homegate rent index, which recorded predominantly rising prices over the prior 12 months. The two indicators are not directly comparable due to differing methodologies.
Regionally, the decline was uneven. Ticino saw the steepest drop at 10.9%, while Zurich fell 3.3%. Espace Mittelland edged down 0.9%. Central Switzerland rose 2.3% and eastern Switzerland gained 1.4%.
Zurich remains the most expensive region at an average net monthly rent of CHF 2,340, while Espace Mittelland is the cheapest at CHF 1,452. In the prior year, Zurich asking rents had risen 2.1%.
Listing volume in Zurich has grown steadily: the number of apartments advertised rose from 46,226 three years ago to 49,194 and then to 50,785. Newhome said the additional supply likely contributed to easing the city's rental market.
The national decline occurred against a historically tight housing backdrop. The vacancy rate fell to 1.00% in 2025 — the lowest level in a decade — while the overall housing stock grew by just 0.95%. In the Zurich area, the vacancy rate slipped from 0.56% to 0.48% despite the increase in listings.
"The more important finding is that regional housing markets are diverging further," said Newhome CEO Roman Timm. Institute director Peter Ilg pushed back against claims that investors are leaving units vacant rather than renting them out.
Methodologically, ReMPA records an unweighted average of approximately 300,000 listed apartments without adjusting for location or quality differences. Other indices, such as the hedonic Homegate index, incorporate those corrections.
Newhome acknowledged to AWP that compositional shifts — fewer listings in expensive areas and a greater share in cheaper Ticino — likely explain part of the decline, but did not quantify the effect. The company said a deeper analysis of the nationwide decrease was not included in the study.
