Buying an apartment or house in Switzerland has become ever more difficult, especially for young people. According to a recent survey, the average first-time homeowner in Switzerland buys a property 17 years later than the average French citizen and 14 years later than people in Germany. Stéphanie Marquis grew up living in a house. She would like her young family to enjoy the same experience. But the 35-year-old sales assistant has had to re-think her plans. “My number one dream would be to build my own house, based on my own choices. But I’ve had to lower my standards. I wanted to buy or renovate. I looked at houses ranging between CHF300,000-400,000 ($330,000-440,000), but they were unliveable and needed work on them," she says. + Residential property prices continue to rise in Switzerland A few months ago, she and her family moved into a rented house in Cornol, in canton Jura in northwest Switzerland. Lending rules change “My parents built a house in the 1990s, when interest ...
