The industry's own research.
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Image CEO Giacomo Balzarini sees widening gap between prime and non-prime assets.
Aareal Bank provided financing for Pictet Real Estate Capital's acquisition of a Marriott hotel property in Zurich.
Zurich's hotel sector experienced steady growth in room occupancy rates, prices, and revenue per available room, with multiple new hotel openings and renovations occurring in 2025. City tourism is driving Swiss tourism growth at above-average rates compared to Alpine regions, and BAK Economics forecasts this trend to continue.
The document presents Q1 2025 European residential market data across 19 countries, including prime yields, apartment rental rates per square meter per month, and apartment prices per square meter for major cities. A secondary chart displays overcrowding rates for total population and renters at market prices across EU nations from 2014 to 2024, with Zurich showing the lowest prime yield at 2.50 percent and London the highest apartment prices at €13,440 per square meter.
JLL's Switzerland office market study for 2025 reports that vacancy rates in the five largest Swiss markets (Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Basel, and Lausanne) rose 9% year-over-year to 995,500 m², with the average supply ratio increasing from 4.1% in late 2019 to 5.0% at end of 2024, while new construction activity bottomed out at 57,000 m² in 2024 and is expected to rise annually between 2025 and 2027. The report finds that demand remains intact for modern, flexible, ESG-compliant office space in well-connected locations, while older buildings without proximity to transit stations face leasing challenges, and predicts yield compression and higher transaction volumes in 2025 as investors increase capital deployment in a lower interest rate environment.
Zurich's office vacancy rate declined marginally to 5.2% in Q1 2026 from 5.3% in the previous quarter, with uneven vacancy trends across submarkets and a significant decrease in new-build activity alongside property repurposing reducing available office inventory. The document provides summary analysis of Zurich's current office real estate market conditions as of April 2, 2026.
The Zurich office market saw vacant office space decrease by 4,900 m² year-over-year with an unchanged availability rate of 5.3%, though District 11 experienced a notable increase to 11.9% availability after over 50,000 m² became available from new developments. Demand remained weak through most of 2025 before picking up near year-end, with tech companies including Meta, OpenAI, and Boston Dynamics taking space, while over 40,000 m² was withdrawn for conversion to other uses, and a reduced construction pipeline of approximately 71,000 m² planned for 2026–2028 is expected to tighten availability again.
JLL's Q4 2025 analysis of Zurich's high street retail market reports that prime rents on Bahnhofstrasse increased 26% over five years to reach CHF 10,750 per square meter annually by end-2025, ranking third in Europe behind Paris and London, with vacancy rates held below 1% by strong brand demand. The report attributes continued retail sector strength to Zurich's top-ranking European purchasing power position.
Zurich's hotel sector experienced steady growth in occupancy rates, prices, and revenue per available room, with new hotel openings and renovations occurring in 2025. Swiss tourism growth is being driven primarily by above-average city tourism expansion, with BAK Economics projecting this trend to continue in coming years.
Zurich's serviced apartments stock nearly doubled from 2,760 units in 2017 to 5,320 units in September 2025, with district 4 containing the highest concentration. Political initiatives in the city are seeking to restrict serviced apartment growth in residential zones and limit short-term residential lettings to no more than 90 days annually.