AtlasProperty and Real-EstateBruno de Almeida Ferreira and Alessandro Paterniti Barbino

Looking up the online register availability of the cantons in Switzerland, one can clearly identify that the so called “Kantönligeist” (engl. cantonal spirit) is a common thing, basically the federalist ideology on which Switzerland was founded on. This has truly an influence on what sort of data is online available to citizens. Having three transparency degrees. Starting from the brightest of full transparency, which includes the information of the owner, property measurements and its location. Followed by the semi transparent, which only has information on the property measurements and location. Ending with the lack of transparency, where there is only the address of the property available. Above are three example of such cantons on their degree of transparency.

The canton Zurich area is surrounded by agricultural land and forests. About 30 % of all cantonal land is occupied by forests. About 48 % of the forests in the entire canton are in the hands of private owners. The remaining part is owned by the confederation (1 %), the canton (7 %), political municipalities (32 %) and corporations (12 %).

In the canton of Zurich the highest land prices are found in the most attractive areas of the canton, i.e. in the urban area of the city of Zurich and lake shore communities, plus the urban area of Winterthur. The city core is attractive because of the high offer of jobs and the charm of urban life. The most expensive land per square meter is found in the municipality of Herrliberg, while if we want to find more affordable prices we have to move to the North and East of the cantonal area. Where the municipality of Fischenthal holds the lowest price for land.

Throughout the canton, as in the rest of Switzerland and the world, in the years following the 2008 crisis, caused by the bursting of the real estate bubble, the price of real estate soared. The rise in property values was then slowed by the outbreak of the global pandemic due to Covid-19. However, in the years from 2010 to 2020, the average real estate value of single-family houses (EFH) increased by 45 %, while that of multi-family houses (MFH) increased by 35 %.

Over the last 10 years, billions have been invested within the canton in the building sector. The largest figures belong to the City of Zurich, but it is important to point out that this city has invested more than five times as much as another urban area like Winterthur.

The flow of money invested in construction revolves around the urban areas of the city of Zurich, Winterthur and their environs, but small municipalities should not be neglected. These have invested a great deal in relation to their number of inhabitants and are going second map: through a phase of great development dictated by the interest of the population in living in quiet areas while remaining close to the city. Among these, the case of Aesch stands out.

The small municipality of Aesch has experienced an explosion of investment in the construction sector in recent years due to the construction of Westum fahrung Zurich. The road guarantees fast connections to the city center and has therefore generated strong interest in Aesch.

Intuitively, the construction of new single family units (EFH) has gone to concentrate on the more peripheral and green areas of the canton, at the same time the urban areas and their suburbs have opted for the construction of multi-family houses (MFH), thus providing a greater densification of the urban fabric. However, there is no lack of borderline cases such as the municipality of Weiach, which has invested significant amounts of money in both directions.

The urban area of the canton Zurich and its surroundings has a low rate of small apartments (1–2 rooms), on the other hand it is very dense of medium sized apartments (3–4 rooms). In the city, however, spacious apartments (5–6 rooms) predominate. From this we can conclude that the City of Zurich, like the rest of the canton, is a place where it is pleasant to live and not a place where only stays to work or study.

In the peripheral villages of Canton Zurich, the rate of property ownership is significantly higher. People in these municipalities invest their life savings to build a solid future strengthened by homeownership. In the urban reality this rate is lower, here to be homeowners is much more difficult in comparison with external areas: for a number of regulations and economic issues. This is not only the case of the city of Zurich, but it happens in a multitude of other urban contexts around the world.

The “highest” percentages of vacant housing are found outside of the canton urban centers. As can be seen from the graphs, this phenomenon affects the regions of the Zurich Oberland, the Zurich Unterland and Pfannenstiel the most. While on average the dwellings that have a higher rate of inhabitation are the smaller ones.