In more than 70 percent of Zurich’s municipalities, the vacancy rate, i.e. the proportion of vacant apartments in the total housing stock, is lower than in the previous year. Since the start of the time series in 1984, never before have so many parishes recorded a decline. The stock of vacant apartments has fallen in all regions except the city of Zurich. The decrease is pronounced in the more rural regions, where vacancy rates have been above average in recent years. These include the wine country and the Oberland. The vacancy rate in the Pfannenstiel region on the right bank of Lake Zurich also fell significantly.
At the cantonal level, the vacancy rate is below the average of the last ten years for the first time since 2013. Historically, however, it is not particularly low at 0.7 percent. Towards the end of the noughties and after the turn of the millennium, for example, the values were in some cases significantly lower.
Large apartments in demand across the canton
The only increase in vacancies is in 1-room apartments. The decline is most pronounced for large apartments with 4 or more rooms. The fact that large apartments are less often vacant can be seen in almost all regions. The higher proportion of apartments with at least 4 rooms in rural areas is one of the reasons why vacancies there fell more sharply than in the more densely populated areas around the city of Zurich. In addition, the large distance to the center as an argument against moving to the countryside in the wake of the corona-related home office boom is likely to be less important today than it used to be.
Lower vacancies in new buildings
The decline in vacancies in new buildings was significant. As part of the vacancy census, these are buildings that are no more than two years old. In relative terms, they have been falling more sharply in this category for a long time than in older buildings. In 2021, this development became even more pronounced. This year only 11 percent of vacant apartments are in new buildings, five years ago it was 25 percent. Breaking down the vacancies by type of apartment shows that the share of single-family houses in the stock of vacant apartments has remained stable and is just under 10 percent. If you differentiate between freehold and rental properties when it comes to vacancies, the proportion of freehold properties has risen slightly again this year to 15 percent. Historically, however, this is still a low figure.
Is it all because of Corona?
The corona pandemic plausibly increases the demand for large apartments, for example because people need space to work from home or generally spend more time at home. The trend in vacancy rates seems to confirm this pattern. The fact that the 1-room apartments are increasingly vacant can certainly be partly explained by the decline in (temporary) labor immigration. However, the change in the preferences of apartment hunters due to the Corona crisis is not the only possible factor. The supply of new apartments has tended to decrease since 2018. In addition, relatively speaking, more small than large apartments have been built in recent years. The increase in the number of vacant apartments in 1-room apartments and the decrease in larger apartments could at least partly be due to supply.
The extent to which the decline in the vacancy rate compared to the previous year heralds a sustainable trend reversal can only be conclusively assessed in a few years’ time. Since the counting of vacant apartments follows a key date logic, it is only a snapshot in each case. In small communities in particular, the annual changes are subject to large fluctuations. New construction projects can have a major impact on the numbers here.
About the vacancy count
The census of vacant apartments is carried out in accordance with federal guidelines. In all municipalities, it records the apartments vacant on June 1st, which are either offered for permanent rent or for sale. Apartments that are uninhabited but already rented or sold are not recorded. The reported vacancy figures only include apartments that are advertised but cannot be rented or sold. They therefore only include a part of all properties advertised in the press and the Internet and refer to that part of the housing supply that is not immediately absorbed by demand. Over time, the vacancy rate is a sensitive indicator of imbalances in the housing market.
Detailed data for municipalities, regions and districts can be found on the website of the Statistical Office of the Canton of Zurich. The press release from Statistics City of Zurich, which appears at the same time, also contains detailed data on the city quarters.
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