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The cheapest towns to purchase property in Switzerland right now

Helena Bachmann
Helena Bachmann - [email protected]
The cheapest towns to purchase property in Switzerland right now
properties in small towns (like this one, in canton Bern), provide best bang for your buck. Photo by Bo Zhang on Unsplash

Buying a house or a flat in Switzerland can be a very expensive undertaking. But if you're not too picky about where they are located, there are some relatively affordable options out there.

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Of course, if you have your heart set on Geneva or Zurich, then you will have to dig deep into your pockets to buy a property in those notoriously high-priced areas.

Those two regions, along with Ticino, have experienced significant hikes in property prices: 

  • Ticino, an increase of 8.4 percent
  • Greater Zurich area, 6.1 percent
  • The Lake Geneva region (Geneva and Vaud), 3.8 percent

READ MORE: Zurich hit by affordable housing shortage amid record-high immigration 

The message here is clear: if you avoid these areas and look elsewhere, you may just be able to find a house in your price range.

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According to a new analysis carried out by Homegate and ImmoScout24, in collaboration with the Swiss Real Estate Institute, in some towns you can buy property for under 750,000 francs.

Yes, it may seem like a lot of money if compared with less expensive countries, but it is a good price by Swiss standards, as houses usually cost well over 1 million here. 

Where are you most likely to find those ‘bargains’ (relatively speaking, of course)?

They are all away from large cities, but some of them are within an easy commute to urban centres.

Quite a few of these properties are located in the cantons of Aargau and Bern.

For instance, in the Aargau town of Aarburg, you can buy a house for 610,000 francs, and in Reinach and Lenzburg, properties cost between 610,000 and 740,000 francs — the same price range as in Bern municipalities of Büren an der Aare and Worben.

In terms of apartments, the lowest averages — a ‘mere’ 400,000 francs — can be found in Klingnau (also Aargau).

Relatively inexpensive properties can also be found in Oftringen and Möhlin (Aargau), as well as in Bern communities of Kirchberg and Lenk.

Are those prices really considered ‘low’?

Don’t forget, this is Switzerland, where neither ‘low’ nor ‘cheap’ is part of the vocabulary, in any of the national languages.

However, if you compare those prices with what's on offer in more expensive regions, it may give you a totally different perspective: houses in Uetikon am See (Zurich) go for 4 million francs — about the same range as properties in Vésenaz (Geneva).

And apartments in Küsnacht, Zurich, can set you back 2.5 million francs.

A good thing about buying property outside of urban areas is that Switzerland is beautiful no matter where you live, and more than likely there are public transport options even in rural areas.

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Where in Switzerland are property prices and rents rising the most?
 

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